Taking over
by AllieCam
Summary: After House is shot, Cameron gets an unexpected surprise. Updated! Sorry for the delay! Please Read.
1. Of Ketamine and Comas

Disclaimer: I still own nothing belonging to House. Woe is me…

Spoilers: No Reason.

Summary: Cameron gets an unexpected surprise when House gets shot.

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"Tell Cuddy I want ketamine."

The words were ringing in her ears. He had just gone in for surgery to remove the bullets and to try and stop the bleeding. There was nothing she could do. He might die. He might pull through. But what ever happened she would still be sitting on a couch, outside the operating room, sandwiched between her two colleagues waiting for news. Always waiting. She was going to go mad if she didn't do something.

Chase and Foreman started when Cameron stood up abruptly and began to walk briskly down the corridor.

"Where are you-" Chase's question was cut off by Cameron's clipped response: "To the clinic- they're short staffed."

And before they could ask her if she wanted company, and if she was ok, she had stepped into the lift and disappeared behind the doors. The two men exchanged glances, they were both thinking the same thing: this was totally un-Cameron-like behaviour. She was doing clinic duty, when her boss could be dying on an operating table. Something was definitely up.

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The following day, Cuddy paged her at the clinic. She was in the middle of assuring a concerned woman that her grandson had, in fact, a cold and not meningitis. After the woman's third "are you sure you're old enough to be a doctor?" Cameron lost her cool.

"Mrs. Jacobs," she said firmly but politely, "I have given your grandson a thorough examination. There is nothing wrong with him. Like most children his age, at this time of year, he has a cold. You have my medical opinion, but if you would like to see another doctor- be my guest. However, I must warn you that we are very busy today and that you will be waiting twice as long for a doctor who will give you the same diagnosis I just did." Just then her pager went off, the message told her to see Dr.Cuddy in her office STAT. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with an actual medical emergency." She exited the room wondering what had gotten into her. The stress of House's hospital admittance was taking it's toll, even though the worst was now over. She needed to calm down before she saw the Dean of Medicine.

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By the time she reached Cuddy's office she was herself again. She knocked twice on the door and entered.

The woman inside raised her head and motioned for her to shut the door and sit down.

"Dr. Cameron," she began, "I won't keep you long- I know you're working in the clinic at the moment."

She nodded faintly. "I'm just putting in a few hours."

"A few hours?" Too late she realised her mistake- you should never lie to your boss' boss. Dr. Cuddy raised her eyebrows in surprise. "It says here that you've clocked in twelve hours between yesterday and today." She gestured to a sheet on her desk.

Allison shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hated being caught out.

"Six of those are recorded as being Dr. House's hours. Is that right?" She continued.

"He's behind in his obligation to the clinic." The young doctor side-stepped the question. "We have no current cases, and I'm up to date with my paper work."

The older woman nodded understandingly. Clearly her subordinate was trying to keep busy. "The board had a meeting this morning to discuss what to do about Dr. House."

Dr. Cameron was silent. She couldn't fathom why Dr. Cuddy felt the need to tell her this.

"We've decided not to got outside the hospital for a temporary replacement. We want someone who knows the hospital." She looked carefully at the young doctor. "We'd like you to fill in for him."

Cameron looked shocked. "Why not Dr. Foreman or Dr. Chase?"

"There was some concern about Dr. Foreman's recent brain surgery. And Dr. Chase messed up that MRI not so long ago…"

"It was an honest mistake." She cut in.

"Yes- but not one the board feels should be repeated." She paused for a moment. "You're an excellent doctor. Everyone I've spoken to has been very impressed with your skills."

Cameron said nothing.

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

Allison suddenly made up her mind. "Yes. I will." Cuddy almost sighed with relief. "I have two conditions, though." She continued.

The older doctor looked surprised, but simply said: "Go on."

"I want complete control over how I run the department."

"That seems fair." Cuddy agreed.

"And I don't want Dr. House to know." She added.

"May I ask why?"

"It would only annoy him, and I don't want him annoying me." It wasn't the real reason, but did it matter?

She thought for a moment. It seemed reasonable. "Fine. I won't tell him."

They both stood up.

"That you for the opportunity Dr. Cuddy. I'll try to do a good job."

Cuddy smiled warmly as they shook hands. "I know you will. That's why we chose you."

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_Author's note: _What do you think? Should I continue? I need some feedback so please review- it's the only reason I keep on writing!


	2. Clinic v Cuddy

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to House (except the DVDs).

Sorry for not updating sooner. I was struck by inspiration (which is never good) and I decided to re-write the chapters that I had intended to post. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy it. Please review and tell me what you think, because all the changes I made were thanks to your comments.

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Dr. Cuddy called Foreman and Chase into her office that evening.

As soon as their pagers went off, Cameron had realized what it was about. She was amused that she hadn't been summoned along with her colleagues. Apparently Cuddy didn't anticipate a good reaction.

In the end it was just as well that she hadn't been there. The two doctor's responses would hardly have bolstered her confidence.

Dr. Wilson and Dr. Cuddy observed their reactions in silence.

"What?" Chase's face was almost comical in it's expression of disbelief.

"House put Cameron in charge?" Foreman's reaction was by far the more controlled.

Lisa Cuddy could almost see the arguments against her decision forming in his mind. Eric Foreman was the more important of the two to win over, in her opinion. If he supported his temporary boss, Cameron's job would be a whole lot simpler. However, from the expression on his face, it looked as if his acceptance of her new position was a long way away.

Dr. Cuddy spoke firmly, it was not the time to try and coax them: "House is still in a coma. It wasn't his decision- it's mine. I've discussed it with the board. We didn't want to go outside the hospital. Cameron was the logical choice. It's my decision, and I stand by it."

What she was really saying was: 'Don't argue with me', Chase thought bitterly.

Dr. Foreman cut in: "I'm a neurologist."

"Dr. Cameron's speciality is more adapted to a temporary Head of Diagnostics."

"I had a 4.0 grade average in college."

"You've just had brain surgery."

"I've fully recovered. I've been back at work for months."

"The board feels that we can't take that chance." she paused for a moment before going on, "Look, Dr. Cameron is an excellent doctor. She efficient and she cares about her patients."

"We care about our patients." Chase said, in the tone of a petulant child.

Dr. Wilson turned a contemptuous gaze on him and spoke for the first time: "You both treat the disease. Cameron sees the person."

Cuddy decided to bring the meeting to a close, they were getting no where.

"We have every confidence in Dr. Cameron. We know that this is the right decision. And I want you two to support her and to do as she says. For the moment, she's your boss- so treat her with respect."

The younger doctors left the office without protest, but neither of them looked happy.

Dr. Cuddy gazed after them in silence for a moment, then she turned to Wilson.

"All the same, James, I hope that you're right about this."

He sighed deeply. The last two days had been a nightmare and he looked, and felt, like hell.

"So do I," he spoke so quietly that he might have been talking to himself, "So do I."

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AN: Well? What did you think?? Please review- and tell me where to go from here!


	3. Of late nights and nightmares

Disclaimer: I swear I own nothing- was there ever any doubt?

I want to say a **HUGE** sorry to everyone who was waiting for me to update this- I feel terrible. What happened was: I can up with what I thought was a great idea, enthusiastically started posting...and then realised that I didn't know where to go with it. Well, now I have found my way!

Sorry again, but I _promise_ that I'm now going to be updating regularly (and hopefully starting a new House-fic that I can't get out of my head).

Thanks to everyone who: a) read b) reviewed and c) liked my last fic 'Everybody's past catches up with them'.

This chapter is dedicated to:

Sweetgreuy: I read your fic, loved it (still love it!) but had trouble reviewing (I'll try again!). (By the way, I voted at least fifty times for Cammie- she's losing to Cuddy, though!)

Danishdynamite: who reminded me that I had begun this fic and forgot about it!

Dr.Cameron: who asked me about this fic too! (And has given me some of the nicest reviews for my last one)

RaeAnne: who is a seriously great author!

saz89: who has reviewed without fail.

Beneeta: who does the same thing!

And to everyone else who gave me (often undeserved) encouragement.

I hope you like the rest of this fic- Enjoy! (And please review!)

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A piercing scream jolted Allison Cameron awake.

Panic gripped her. She had to get to whoever was screaming- they needed help. She struggled with the sheets that had somehow managed to twist themselves around her, before eventually landing on the cold wooden floor. The shock brought her to her senses.

_She_ had been screaming.

As she sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around her, rocking back and forth, she tried to recall her dream.

It came back to her in snapshots: House standing by the white board; House mocking the stranger that had been looking for him; House collapsing with the first shot…

She leaped to her feet.

It was 4.35am. She'd crawled into bed three hours ago, when exhaustion had finally overtaken her. Judging by the state her bed was in (her pillows were strewn across the room, and the sheets were twisted in knots), she hadn't had a very restful sleep.

She flung herself towards the bathroom to prepare for work. But the image refused to be banished. It haunted her until she was aware only of the desire to be with him. To check that he was ok. To make sure that he wasn't bleeding from his throat…

The hospital was dead.

It wasn't often that she saw it before six am, but when she did she was always struck by how peaceful it was, compared with the madness of the daytime.

She swiftly made her way to the ICU on the fourth floor.

Exiting the elevator, she saw two nurses dressed in pink scrubs seated at the desk, bent over their paper work. The younger of the two looked up at the sound of Cameron's footsteps.

"I'm afraid visiting hours haven't started yet. How did you get in here?"

The other nurse got to her feet. She had recognised the pretty doctor as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

"I'm afraid she's new," she gestured towards the other nurse, "Dr. House's room is just down the hall. He's doing as well as can be expected. I thought you'd be up to see him," she added, giving the sympathetic smile that was usually reserved for the spouse of a critical patient.

Allison concealed a wry smile. She didn't know the nurse, but evidently _she _had heard of _her._ She hadn't realised that gossip about her and House had spread as far as ICU. She wondered, without any real curiosity, just what the current gossip about the two of them was. Since their 'date' a year ago she had noticed a few sly glance from people in the hospital. Of course, all of that had died down once Stacey arrived back. Still, it would be interesting to know what was being said. She was pretty sure that everyone was surprised to see that she wasn't keeping vigil at his bedside- as if he would want her there, she thought with a flash of humour.

She smiled her thanks to the two nurses, and slowly made her way down the hall.

"Who was that?" she heard the new nurse inquire.

"That was Dr. Cameron." came the hushed reply.

"You mean the one who-"

She was shushed into silence.

When Cameron reached his door, she froze. She was physically incapable of turning the handle and entering the room. A cold fear swept over her, and she didn't know why. She just knew that she couldn't go into that room…

She made it back to the nurses' station quickly.

"Are you done?"

The sympathetic one seemed surprised. The doctor glanced at her name tag: Nurse Carver, it read.

"He's…asleep." Her voice sounded weird, even to her own ears.

The two women exchanged glances.

"He's in a coma."

Cameron blinked. "I know. I just…uh…didn't want to disturb him."

They clearly thought that she was crazy.

She had to get out of there.

"Nurse Carver," the woman looked pleased that she apparently knew her name, "I really wanted to talk to you. It's about Dr. House. I know that he's your patient, and I was wondering if I could ask you to let me know how he's doing- if I'm in ICU, or I call up…or something…"

The nurse looked hesitant. "We're not really supposed to disclose medical records to people who aren't next-of-kin."

"I'm one of his doctors," she responded firmly, successfully keeping her emotions in check, "I treated him who we first brought him to the ER. I just won't be…actively…treating him because I'm going to be a bit busier from now on."

Nurse Carver's gaze was enquiring.

"I'm taking over as Head of Diagnostics. Dr. Cuddy asked me yesterday," she gave the woman a friendly smile, "If you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it."

There was a great deal of comprehension in the older woman's eyes. "No problem, Dr. Cameron."

"Thank you."

With a smile and a nod she finally sailed out of there and into the elevator.

By the time she made it to House's office, she was hyperventilating.

She didn't understand a damn thing.

She'd had a nightmare- she'd seen her boss getting shot, it was understandable. Hell. It was _normal_. And it was also normal to want to check on him- to _see _him, to make sure that he was ok. So why couldn't she? Why had she remained frozen outside his door? What was wrong with her?

The questions whirled in her mind, but she couldn't find an answer.

It seemed liked a wasted trip to the hospital, she thought as she yawned.

Well, not entirely.

She'd struck a deal with Nurse Carver.

Allison Cameron was no fool. She was aware that the nurse was going to let her see House's chart, even though it was against hospital regulations, because she had just given her the hottest gossip to hit the hospital in months- possibly years, before anyone else heard about it. House's youngest duckling was filling in for him as Head of Diagnostics- and she hadn't a clue how to run a department.

Well, she'd worry about that later, she thought as she curled up in House's chair. But right now, all she wanted was a few hours of shut-eye before the boys made it in and she started having to act like a boss.

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AN: How was that? Please let me know!...and read the next one!


	4. First test

Disclaimer: Not mine- sadly!

I hope you like the last chapter- please review!

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The sound of Chase's voice tugged her out of a dreamless sleep.

"First day on the job, and she's not even on time," his Australian twang that had never bother her before seemed grating.

Foreman let out a brief laugh. "Give it a rest, Chase. I mean, I know neither of us are happy with Cuddy's decision, but the day hasn't even begun."

Cameron sat up and looked around her. According to her watch, it was 9.15am, and judging by her two colleagues voices, they were next-door in the conference room.

"_Please_," the other doctor sounded more irritated, "It's not a case of being 'not happy'. It's ridiculous. How can anyone expect _Cameron_ to run a department competently? I mean, she's a good doctor, but she's hardly a leader."

She stayed in her seat, frozen, while she listened to them criticise Cuddy's choice.

A chair scraped across the floor. Someone was sitting down.

"I know," Foreman's voice floated into House's office, "I mean, she's too _nice_. She might be a good immunologist, but she's never solved a case. And she doesn't know how to say no to anyone," he paused for a moment before going on, "And she spends far too much time with the patients. It's good that she wants to get to know them, but that's not why we're here. We cure diseases. We're not here to make friends."

Cameron shook her head in disbelief. She'd really thought that after his brush with death he'd changed. But it looked like he was still the same arrogant jerk he'd always been . He was a House-in-training.

She got to her feet.

"She's just too _caring_. Give her a week and she'll probably have the office covered with flowers and teddy bears," Chase moaned, "There's no way she should have been chosen. If Cuddy wanted to pick someone from the department, she should have picked me. I'd make a way better boss than _Cameron,_" he added as a sort of after thought, "If this turns out to be…permanent…I'm going to have to start looking for a new job."

She couldn't believe it.

She had one big chance to finally prove herself as a doctor, and her colleagues were so small-minded that, instead of being happy for her, they were ripping her apart.

They're like vultures, she thought furiously. House could be dying, and all they were worried about was who would get his job.

"Too right," Foreman's voice was tinged with humour, "I still don't get why she didn't pick _me_ though."

"Because you're still recovering from brain surgery," Cameron stood at the door between the conference room and the office, fixing the boys with a steely gaze, "and apparently someone up there thinks that Chase is incompetent."

Chase flinched slightly at her biting tone.

Her eyes flashed with a kind of icy anger that made them as hard as diamonds: "I was stupid enough to think that you guys might actually be happy for me- instead of picking me apart."

The two men exchanged glances.

It was Foreman who spoke up: "You have to admit, Cameron, it is a bit weird that Cuddy picked you. I mean, I've already been acting Head of Diagnostics, and I did a pretty good job," he went on in what he evidently thought was a conciliatory tone, "It's just that you're not really boss-material."

"Right," she spoke in a clipped tone, "Well, apparently Cuddy didn't share your view. Anyway, it doesn't matter what either of you think- I am your boss, until House gets back, and the least that either of you could do is treat me with a little bit of respect," she paused to take a short, calming breath, "Now, we don't have a case yet. So, until we do, you can do something useful. Go to the clinic- they're short-staffed."

"They're _always_ short-staffed," Chase whined, "And I'm up-to-date on my clinic hours."

"Well then you can just take some of House's, can't you?" Her smile was saccharine-sweet.

"You want me to cover _House's_ clinic hours?" He looked at her like she was crazy.

"I think that's what I just said," She was quickly losing patience, "I'll page you guys as soon as something comes up."

Cameron turned on her heel and headed back into House's office.

Foreman called after her: "What are you going to do?"

She paused: "Look for a case. But, in the meantime, there's mail to be opened."

The two doctors exited the conference room.

"What's got into her?"

Foreman didn't respond; he didn't have an answer.

When they'd gone, Cameron returned to the door and stared at the carpet.

It was there alright- a huge blood-stain. _His_ blood.

She'd been so furious with Foreman and Chase that she'd barely been aware of it. But now, alone, it conjured up images that she was trying to forget.

She dragged her gaze away and picked up the phone.

There was no way that she was working in the conference room while it was still like that…

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AN: well, how was that? I know I'm a bit down on Chase, but I really don't like him...House and Cameron forever!!


	5. Filing it all away

Disclaimer: Once again- not mine!

I hope you liked the last ones- please review!

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An hour later, Wilson found her was seated on the floor of the office, surrounded by patient's charts. The places looked like a bomb had hit it.

He knocked tentatively as he entered.

She looked up and sent him an attractive smile. "Hi."

He nodded in reply. "Wouldn't it be easier to look for a new case if the files were spread out on the conference room table?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he could have kicked himself. They both glanced furtively towards the door leading to the room in question. Cameron had locked it and pulled the blinds.

She responded after a barely discernible pause: "The police said that they want us to stay out of there- something about it being a crime scene," she shrugged, "I wasn't really listening."

There was another pause before she went on in a warmer tone: "Besides, I'm not looking for a new patient- I got that done ages ago. They're on their way in now."

"What are you doing, then?"

"Catching up on charting," she grimaced, "I didn't realise there was so much to do when you're the boss."

He grinned at her, "I know, but think of all the perks!" Wilson stooped down to pick up a file as he spoke, "This isn't one of your charts," he directed a searching glance at her, "This is House's."

The young doctor glanced down at the floor before looking at him again: "Yeah, I guess it must have gotten mixed up with the other ones."

James checked another one.

"This is House's too. And this one. And so is this. Cameron, what's going on? Why are you doing House's work for him?"

She got to her feet and began to gather up the files, "House is in a coma. I don't think he's going to be doing them for a while- maybe not ever," she stopped abruptly and turned to face him, "I'm sorry Dr. Wilson. I should have asked you how you're coping."

He ran a hand through his hair as he replied: "I'm fine. I always knew something like this would happen. I just didn't realise he was going to get shot."

"If it helps, he's going to be ok," she tried to comfort him, "His SATS have stabilised and his brain function is normal. We're just going to have to wait until he comes out of the coma."

He sent her a look that plainly showed that he was surprised at her knowledge of House's condition, after all, she wasn't one of his doctors. But he didn't say anything, he merely asked: "Have you been to see him?"

Was it his imagination or did she seem a little uncomfortable at the question.

"Well, he's in a coma. I didn't think there was any point."

"Cameron-"

She cut across him: "Listen Wilson, I have clinic duty. I've really got to go. But come and talk to me anytime you like- night or day," she reached forward and briefly clasped his arm, "I do mean that, ok? And you hang in there."

She was halfway to the door before the sound of his voice stopped her again.

"Are you ok, Cameron?" He sounded concerned.

Even her wide smile couldn't hide how tired she looked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

And with that, she made a swift exit.

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AN: Ok, what did you think? Good/bad/indifferent??


	6. Too many patients spoil the diagnosis

Disclaimer: Never mine- never will be!

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed so far and let me know what they thought. I hope that you're enjoying it (even if it is a little slow- I promise to speed things up soon!).

My thanks particularly to _Dr. Cameron_ for all the reviews- I really love reading them!

Here's another chapter- please let me know what you think.

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"And you're sure it's not serious?" The woman sitting in front of her looked anxious. 

"I'm positive," the doctor reassured her, "I'm writing you a prescription for a powerful hydrocortisone cream. Follow the directions and your rash should disappear in a few days."

"And what do you think caused it, Dr. House?"

"Well, lots of different things can cause eczema- food allergies; allergies to pets; even stress. The important thing is that it's treatable, and that we can get rid of the itchiness."

"Well, I have been under a lot of pressure lately…"

Cameron tried to keep herself from sighing out loud. The patient had been there for over half an hour. She didn't have anything that her regular doctor couldn't have sorted out. Clearly she needed a sympathetic ear, but Allison had her own problems. She wasn't up to having other people dumping on her.

She opened her mouth to explain this (tactfully) to the other woman, when her pager went off.

Saved by the bell.

The doctor managed to smile apologetically and make her escape.

Before she could reply to Foreman's page, her two colleagues appeared out of nowhere. One minute, she was standing alone at the nurse's station, the next she was being flanked by two other doctors. They've been spending too much time with House, she thought idly, as she turned an enquiring gaze on them.

"We've got a problem," at Foreman's words a wave of fear washed over her: was House ok? had something happened? Before she could speak, he went on; "Three patients have just turned up at the hospital saying that they were asked to come in by Dr. House."

"Yeah, Andy Phillips, Jenny…" Chase fumbled with his files.

"…Adams, Simon Jones." Cameron finished.

"How did you know that?" the blonde's voice was tinged with surprise.

"I asked them to come in. They're our new patients." Allison explained.

"But there's _three_ of them." Chase stated in disbelief.

She nodded patiently.

"How are we supposed to treat three patients at once?"

"Foreman, these people have been writing House emails for weeks- emails that he never responds to, or else gets me to respond to telling them that 'Dr. House in busy' when we all know that he could take on five-times more cases if he spent less time playing his Gameboy and avoiding Cuddy." Her tone was heated.

"Yeah. House is a jerk- we know. But there's no way we can take these three case together."

"Why can't we, Foreman?"

"Because it's just not possible! We already end up pulling all-nighters for _one_ patient. How are we supposed to deal with _three_?"

"Very simply. Each of us is going to be in charge of a patient. We'll each get our own patient-history, and do the usual battery of tests. When those come back negative- and they will, we'll do three separate differentials and try to figure out what's wrong," she paused for a moment, "Do either of you have any preference?"

They said nothing, but stared at her like she was crazy.

"Fine. Foreman you take Simon. Chase you can have Andy. I'll take Jenny," she took her patient's file out of Chase's slackened grip and moved away, "By the way," she called over her shoulder, as she entered the elevator "We're in office space for the time being."

The two men stared at each other.

"What is going on with her?"

Chase shrugged distractedly: "This whole thing is ridiculous."

"Did you notice that she was wearing House's lab-coat?"

"How do you know it's House's?"

Foreman rolled his eyes: "It's at least three sizes too big for her- and has his name tag on it."

"Oh."

There was silence for a moment.

"There's no way this is going to work," Chase complained.

Eric shrugged: "She has got a point. We _could_ treat more patients if we wanted too. And maybe it'll be more interesting to have our own, instead of working on the same one together."

"It's not going to work," Chase repeated.

"You sound like a broken record. I don't like Cameron being in charge any more than you do, but we're going to have to deal with it. At least there's no way that she's going to be as much as a jerk as House."

"I'm going to talk to Cuddy," Robert said decisively.

"Do whatever you want, but I think you're wasting your time."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Cuddy put her in charge. There's no way she's going to demote her after less than six hours," he looked at his colleague with a touch of sympathy in his eyes, "you're on your own."

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AN: Well, how was that? I hope you liked it- please let me know! I promise to update soon. 


	7. She's out of her mind

Disclaimer: Not mine- never will be!

Thanks once agiain to everyone who took the time to click on that little button that makes me so happy- I love reading your reviews! I hope that you guys like this chapter- I promise to update soon!

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The page from Cuddy hadn't really taken Allison by surprise. She'd been expecting it from the moment she saw the look on the boys' faces. Now, as she settled herself on the couch across from her boss she wondered which of the two had gone running to Cuddy; if it had been both of them, and if not, which one of them had snitched.

Cuddy's opening gambit put an end to her musings; "Chase came to see me."

A placid nod was her only response.

"He told me that you've taken on three patients at once."

What did she expect her to say? 'No, he's lying', or something equally ridiculous?

She settled on a truthful answer: "That's right."

"And you don't feel that it will compromise patient care if you take on too many cases at once?"

Cameron bristled: "No, I don't. If I did, there is no way I would even have considered it for a moment."

"I'm just wondering if it's going to be too much for you," the older woman watched her carefully.

"Dr. Cuddy, you told me that I could run the department the way I want. If you're going to start telling me what I can and cannot do- _on my first day_- I don't really see how I can do my job," her tone was polite, but firm, "I promise you that I would never do _anything_ that would compromise the health of my patients."

Cuddy nodded: "That's all I needed to know," she said as she got to her feet.

"That's it?" Cameron asked with something approaching disbelief.

The other doctor smiled down at her: "Cameron, I didn't ask you here to tell you what to do. I just wanted to check your motives," she paused for a moment, "You don't have anything to prove, you know."

That's a bit fat lie, Cameron thought, but said nothing. It must have shown on her face, though, because Cuddy went on:

"House is a brilliant doctor. He's the best. But he'll never be a good boss, because he just doesn't care about his employees. You could be a terrific boss- if you just stop worrying about what everyone thinks of you. You care, _and_ you're smart," she smiled, "I'm guessing that the reason you're dividing up the cases is to motivate the other two by creating a little healthy competition."

Allison stared: "How did you know that?"

Cuddy laughed out loud: "It's one of the oldest tricks in the book! Anyway, good luck. And if you need anything, my door is always open."

"There was something that I wanted to talk to you about," Cuddy inclined her head, an indication to her to go on, "it's about the carpet in the conference room- I'd like it changed. Until it is, we won't be able to use that room."

"What are you going to do for the moment?" Her boss looked at her searchingly.

"We're going to be in office space." Her tone gave nothing away.

After a pause, the older doctor said: "If the police ok it, I'll get it changed as soon as possible."

The younger doctor thanked her and made her way to the door.

"Oh," Cuddy's voice halted her progress, "I just wanted to let you know that House is doing well. He's stable and his SATS-"

"Are normal," Cameron finished, giving a tired smile, "Wilson's been keeping me up-to-date."

"I hope your interview with the police wasn't too difficult," there was sympathy in her boss' voice.

Had she spoken to the police? She couldn't remember. Everything about that day was a blur.

But she managed to keep her smile intact and to reply in an even tone: "It went ok. I don't think it was very helpful, though. They still haven't caught him."

"They will."

Allison wasn't so sure, but she didn't say so. Instead, she thanked her boss again, and made a hasty retreat.

* * *

"Chase, we need to talk."

He looked up guiltily from the lasagne he was pushing around his plate.

Do you want to join us, Cameron?" Foreman tried to keep from laughing at the look on his colleagues face.

She spotted an empty chair at another cafeteria table and pulled it over.

"I've just come from Cuddy's office," Chase's gulp was almost audible, "look, I know that you're not pleased that she asked me to fill in for House, and that you're worried about us taking on so many cases at once. But, if you have concerns, I'd prefer you to tell _me_ instead of running to Cuddy. I'm not House, ok? You can talk to me."

There was a silence.

"And that goes for you too, Foreman. I know that you guys aren't happy with her decision, but I think that you should respect me enough to think that I might actually do a good job."

It was so weird, she didn't seem mad at all.

"Look, Cameron, I'm still not sure about all of this…" Chase's voice was hesitant, "…it's going to take a bit of getting used to."

She smiled: "I know, for me too."

She stood up.

"Are you not going to have anything to eat, Cameron?" Foreman was surprised.

"I'm not really hungry. I'll probably eat a bit later," she shrugged it off with a little smile, "And, guys, my name is Allison. I'd prefer you to use it."

They stared after her for a moment.

"She's going mad," Chase joked.

"Who's going mad?" Dr. James Wilson appeared out of nowhere.

Foreman greeted him: "Hey, Wilson, do you want to eat with us?"

"No thanks, I was going to take my lunch up to House's room to see if the smell of a ruben will revive him," he smiled as he spoke, but his eyes were tired.

"Maybe that's where Cameron's gone," Chase mused aloud.

"I doubt it," Wilson shook his head, "I don't think she'd been to see him at all."

"See?" Chase shot a triumphant look at Eric, "she hasn't been to see _House_ even though he's in a _coma_! I'd have expected her to be getting all weepy by his bedside, but instead she's taking on too many patients and telling us to call her 'Allison'."

Foreman snorted into his sandwich: "You're just hoping that it means she's over House, so you can sleep with her again."

Chase looked offended, but didn't deny it.

The older doctor rolled his eyes and ignored the interruption: "She said that she wants you to call her Allison?" Wilson queried, "That's odd."

"Why is it odd? And why do we call her that anyway?" Chase wondered aloud.

James Wilson answered without hesitation: "Because that's what House calls her," he paused for a moment, "I wonder…"

* * *

AN: How was that? Please let me know!


	8. Of irony and lupus

Disclaimer: I swear that they're (sadly) not mine!

Thanks to everybody who's been reviewing- I really love hearing what you think. You guys rock!

This chapter is a little different. I've decided not to go into detail about the cases. I know that some of you might be disappointed, so I'll explain why:

1) I'm not a doctor (even though I _do _love medical shows) so I won't insult anybody's intelligence by pretending that I can make up three cases off the top of my head.

2) If I decided to put in a case, it would mean lots of research- which I really don't have time to do (and would make me have to stop updating!)

3) This is a House/Cam fic, not a thank-God-Cameron's-finally-standing-up-for-herself fic (even if there is a lot of that in there). So, I want to move things along as quickly as possible.

Sorry if anybody's disappointed- please let me know if you are, and I can try to compensate with...em...more chapters?? I dunno...

Anyway, enjoy!

PS: House calls Cameron...'Cameron'...which is what Wilson was trying to say in the last chapter- sorry if it was a little confusing.

* * *

All three case turned out to be what House would call 'diagnostically boring'.

Cameron had been wrong: the 'usual battery of tests' had borne unexpected fruit.

Chase's patient had epilepsy mixed with a vitamin deficiency which made his seizures more pronounced and wildly unpredictable.

Foreman's had carbon monoxide poisoning due to a leaky gas tap in his house. (Why his regular doctor had missed this was another mystery, perhaps best left unsolved).

And Cameron's had lupus.

She almost laughed at the irony: the minute House was out of the office, someone actually _had _lupus.

Because of Cameron's new policy (the minute a patient was diagnosed, they were kicked on to the relevant department: "We're not a treatment centre. We diagnose; someone else can treat," she told them, causing the boys to exchange worried glances), after one really late night, and one _very_ long day, they had their cases wrapped up.

"Don't worry about the paper work," she told the other two doctors, "I'll sort that out. You guys must be wrecked. We'll start a bit later tomorrow. How about 10.30?"

Chase and Foreman nodded. Working three cases at once had been exhausting- especially since they'd had to keep looking for spare rooms to work on their differential. They fervently hoped that the carpet would be replaced soon so they could stop scrounging for rooms.

Foreman left, but Chase hung back a little.

"Something on you're mind?" she enquired idly as she stacked the files together.

"I…uh…I wanted to say that is was a really good idea to do three cases at once," he rubbed the back of his neck a little nervously, "and I think that you're doing a really good job."

A smile lit up her tired face: "Thanks. It's nice to hear that."

"And, I was…um…sort of wondering if you wanted to go out for a drink."

"I'm sorry Robert, but I really have to get this paperwork done. Then I think I'm going to have an early night," he looked crestfallen, and she felt bad for him "Maybe some other time," she added kindly.

He brightened at that.

"I'd like that," he paused for a moment, as if he was expecting her to say something else. When she didn't, he went on: "Good night then, Allison."

"Good night."

She breathed a sigh of relief when he left. Then she gathered up her files and headed up to House's office.

It wasn't that he wasn't a nice man- well, not exactly _nice_, but he was just the type of person she _should_ be dating: smart, young, sort of boyish, good looking…and not House.

In the end, it always came back to House.

Why?

She didn't know, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to either…

She was worried about him- that was all.

The light in the conference room was on.

Puzzled, she pushed open the door, and saw that Cuddy had finally come through: there was a man laying a new carpet.

Not a moment too soon, she thought, as she curled up in House's chair for a well-earned rest, she was getting sick of office space.

* * *

An hour later, she woke with a start screaming his name.

Still half asleep, Cameron stumbled from the chair, tripping over herself as she lurched into the conference room.

House was bleeding. So much blood- and she couldn't stop it. Her hands were stained in blood- his blood. The life was draining from him and she couldn't do anything…

Slowly, the fog began to clear from her sleep-drenched mind.

She was in the conference room, but nobody was there. It was dark and empty. There wasn't a trace of blood on the carpet.

Suddenly she realised that the carpet had been replaced, and House was alive and in a coma up in ICU.

The urge to check on him was too strong.

She checked her watch: it was 11.30pm. ICU would be deserted, and no doubt Nurse Carver would be happy to turn a blind eye…

* * *

AN: How was that? What do you think of the whole Chase/Cameron thing?


	9. Ducking, Diving and Decorating

Disclaimer: Not mine- sadly!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. No Cam/Chase- I got it!

This chapter is a short one, so I'm going to post two at once.

Please let me know what you think. I'm trying to update as often as possible, but I've got a lot on. I'm hoping to start posting another two House fics soon- what can I say? I was inspired!

Thanks again for the really great reviews, they give me the confidence to go on writing (even though I'll never be half as good as _real _writers!).

Enjoy!

* * *

"What the hell happened here?"

Cameron emerged from House's office at the sound of Chase's voice.

She hadn't left the hospital the previous night, but had instead decided to catch up on some paper work- and re-arrange the conference room.

"Good morning, Robert," she said brightly, "Can I get you some coffee?"

"Cam- I mean, Allison, what's going on?" there was utter confusion in his voice, "What happened to the conference room."

His amazement was amusing.

"The carpet's been changed," she said blandly, as she filled her coffee cup (her fourth of the morning).

"I can see that, but-" he was actually at a loss for words.

He was saved by Foreman's arrival.

"Morning, Chase, Cam…er…Allison. How are-" Eric suddenly stopped mid-sentence to look around the room, "What did you do to the conference room?"

"Why do you assume it was me?" Cameron laughed while she seated herself at the newly appointed table.

"Because I can't really see Chase re-decorating," came the prompt reply.

She smiled and continued to sip her coffee.

"Wilson," Foreman greeted the other doctor almost merrily, "What do you think of the new- and improved," he nodded to Cameron as he said this, "conference room?"

Dr. Wilson paused in the doorway to look around him.

The old blood-stained grey carpet had been replaced with a light cream-coloured one. The white board had disappeared along with Cameron's desk, and a cream couch (that had apparently been pilfered from someone else's office) filled the corner where they had been before. The huge glass table now stretched the wall to the left of the door. All the furniture was turned towards the glass of the room.

Foreman was right- to was new, _and_ improved. The whole room looked much lighter and more spacious.

James nodded his approval: "What brought about the change?"

"I was inspired last night," Allison smiled warmly at him, still riding her caffeine high.

"You moved around all of this furniture by _yourself_?" Eric was shocked, "You could really have hurt your back."

"I thought you said you were going home for an early night?" Chase sounded almost sulky.

Too late, she realised her mistake and swiftly covered her tracks: "Not me- I did nothing. The guys that laid the carpet had to move all the furniture out first, they asked me where I wanted it."

The boys seemed to buy it, but Wilson took in her slightly damp hair (which probably meant that she had showered at the hospital), and her face that was covered in slightly too much foundation to cover the dark circles under her tired eyes- and drew his own conclusions.

"What are we going to do without our white-board, anyway?" Chase asked conversationally.

Cameron drew something from her pocket and tossed it to him.

"It's a marker," he said blankly.

"Not just any marker- it writes on _any_ surface," she gestured to the glass walls, "I figured that since we're going to be taking on more cases at once we're going to need a bigger white-board."

The boys smiled; she was right.

And it meant that there would be no more disagreements over who got to write on the white-board, Wilson thought. Clever girl.

"Dr. Wilson, can I get you some coffee?"

"No thanks, Cameron, I'm not staying," he looked right at her at he spoke, "I just came to tell you- House is awake."

* * *

AN: How was that? I'm sorry if the description isn't very clear- I can see it in my head, but it's hard to get down on paper! I was going to leave it as another cliffie, but since it's a really short chapter, I decided to stick on another one.

Please let me know what you think!


	10. He's got a point

Disclaimer: if they were mine, why would I need to ask for them to come out to play?

Here's another chapter- enjoy!

* * *

"_I just came to tell you- House is awake."_

Cameron slowly set down the red mug that she was holding. Very carefully, as if it were made of glass.

Three pairs of eyes were on her.

She had to say something.

Looking straight up into Wilson's face, she asked: "How is he?"

"Pain free."

He was smiling.

She stood up and, regardless of the other two doctors, put her arms around him.

"You must have been so worried. I'm glad that everything's ok."

Her hug had taken him by surprise, but he was grateful for it. Only two other people in the hospital had any idea of what he's been going through over the last few days- Cuddy and Cameron, and that was because they were going through it too.

The other two looked a little uncomfortable, but they were also pleased. House had been in pain for a long time; it was about time something good happened to him.

"So, if you want to see him…"

Cameron drew back at Wilson's words and turned towards the other two doctors: "Cuddy's expecting you two in the clinic," they looked at her in surprise, "It's just a couple of hours. We'll talk later."

They both wanted to hang around and find out what Cameron would say to Wilson in private. But, there was a sudden steeliness in her gaze that reminded them that she was their boss. So, they took themselves off to the clinic wondering why Cameron wasn't turning cartwheels at the thought that House was out of a coma.

As soon as they had left, she turned towards Wilson.

She had no idea what to say.

Getting rid of the boys had been a knee-jerk reaction. She didn't even know why she had done it.

He spoke first: "Allison, what's wrong? I thought that you'd be pleased to hear that he's doing well." He regarded her with sympathetic and faintly analytical eyes.

"I'm delighted Wilson, really I am," she reassured him, "I think it's terrific news…it's just that we're kind of busy at the moment."

James stared at her: "You don't have any patients."

"I've got clinic duty, and a patient on his way in," she countered, "I'm just not available right now."

"You're not available to go and see him for five minutes?" There was disbelief in his tone.

"Why are you so hell-bent on finding him visitors? He's just woken up from a coma- I doubt he's going to want to see _anyone_ at the moment."

"You're saying that you aren't going to see him?" He couldn't believe his ears; what the hell had happened to sweet, caring Allison Cameron? He'd been sure that she was here only five minutes ago. Now she'd been replaced by a hard woman with frosty eyes.

"No," she wasn't saying anything of the sort. She was saying that she_ couldn't_ go to see him. (Hell, she'd tried last night, but hadn't even made it to his door), "I'm saying that I'm busy at the moment."

Wilson was shrewd enough to realise that the deliberately wasn't giving him a straight answer. "And are you going to tell Chase and Foreman that they can't go to see him?"

She was shocked: "Of course not! That's up to them to decide."

He nodded in agreement.

There was a pause.

"I've got clinic duty," she said, but didn't make a move towards the door.

Wilson sighed; she was clearly telling him that their conversation was over.

"You know, Allison, you can't avoid him forever. Whatever about not going to see him and not letting anyone tell him that you're in-charge, he's still going to be up here all the time irritating you guys about cases."

She regarded him thoughtfully: the man had a point…

* * *

AN: How was that? Another minor cliffie- I love them! Please review! (It makes me very happy).


	11. Deal or no deal?

Disclaimer: Sadly, not mine.

This is just a little chapter I put together. I'll probably be posting a new fic soon. If you see it, please check it out! And I hope to be updating this one even more regularly.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed- I love you all!

Please let me know what you think!

* * *

"You're not agreeing to this, are you?"

Cuddy sighed deeply. What did he expect? She wanted to keep Allison Cameron as acting-Head of Diagnostics; she'd already promised not to tell House that his youngest fellow was filling-in for him while he was away; _and_ she'd agreed to the very thing that Wilson was protesting against.

"I don't have a choice," she said, somewhat heatedly. It had been Wilson's idea to give Cameron the job in the first place. The young doctor hadn't asked for more money, or caused any of the unnecessary fuss that House always seemed to enjoy making. All she wanted was to be given a free rein, as well as being able to keep from her sick boss the knowledge that she was running his department.

"Of course you have a choice!" James was annoyed, "You could just have told her 'no'! Are you really going to tell House that you closed-down his department for the summer?"

"I am," she said firmly, "I'll tell him that his fellows are being re-distributed around the hospital- or something."

"Why? Can't you just tell him that you'll be over-seeing their cases?"

"He would never buy that. He knows I'm too busy to run a department as well. And even if he did buy it, he'd be in here- and upstairs- all the time just so that he could annoy me."

Wilson was silent; she was right.

Pressing her advantage, Lisa continued: "Look, it was your idea to give the job to Cameron. I admit that I was sceptical at first. But now, I see what you see. I think that she could make an excellent boss, and I think that we should give her this chance to prove herself. She's a good doctor, and a really nice person, but I think she needs a chance to flex her muscles, so to speak," she paused, carefully choosing her words, "House has been…stifling her- I think. Look at what she's gotten done in such a short time."

The other doctor nodded: "I know- three patients diagnosed in two days, and more clinic hours than the three of them usually do in a week."

Cuddy smiled: "Not just that- _all_ of House's charting is up-to-date, and this morning I got a call from a Jenny Somebody-or-other wanting to make a donation to the hospital."

"One of the patients she treated a couple of days ago?"

"Exactly."

"The one who had lupus?"

Cuddy nodded: "She was transferred to Chicago General to be closer to home and, of course, she's under-going treatment, but she told me on the phone that Cameron's called her twice in the last few days to see how she's getting on. She also said that she'd been trying to get House to see her for months; she was delighted when Cameron got in touch."

"And she didn't mind that House wasn't treating her?" James asked curiously.

"She was disappointed at first, I think, but she said that she felt comfortable with Cameron, and that she really looked after her."

He nodded slowly: that sounded more like the Cameron he knew.

"You know that she doesn't want to see House?"

Cuddy looked surprised, but then shrugged: "That's her business."

"But don't you think it's odd?" he persisted.

She seemed to turn the question over in her mind: "Well, as a matter of fact, I do. But it's not affecting her work. And I'm not here to get involved in my employees love-lives."

The remark was flippant, but she had a point.

"You do know that she's been staying late at the hospital- maybe even sleeping here?"

Cuddy saw what he was doing.

"Ok, I'll tell you what: I'll tell her to ease off a bit and get some rest- if you promise not to tell House that the department is still open-for-business."

Wilson paused indecisively.

"You know he's just going to get in the way if he finds out what's going on," came Cuddy's persuasive voice, "He needs to be focusing on other stuff right now."

He sighed, knowing that he had been beaten. "Fine. But you better tell Cameron to relax a bit."

* * *

Later that evening, Allison Cameron sat in a piano bar that she'd never been to, swilling the contents of her glass and mulling things over.

Dr. Cuddy's voice still echoed in her head.

"_I've told House that I decided to shut down the department until he gets back, and I've let Wilson, Foreman and Chase know that they're not to say anything." _Cameron had smiled her thanks. _"However," _Cuddy continued in a warning tone, _"I may end up acutally shutting it down if you don't start spending less time at the hospital, and more time in bed."_

She nodded in agreement, smiled, thanked her again, and made her escape.

Cameron raised her glass in a silent toast to herself.

She re-designed her new office space, done a load of clinic hours, treated more patients than House did in a month, gotten through the backlog of emails and paperwork that House always managed to avoid, done some fund-raising for the hospital without even knowing it, _and_ let her colleagues know who was boss. The House problem had also been sorted out by Cuddy- for the time being, anyway.

Now all that was left to do was be the boss.

She sighed a little. She was learning that it wasn't as easy as it looked.

* * *

AN: How was that?? I promise to update soon- it'll be a long sort of summary chapter (I'm trying out different styles of writing). I want to get House back to the hospital as soon as possible, and then...conflict can begin!


	12. The life of the bossman

Disclaimer: not mine. I wish they were... :(

Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed. In particular:

LadyKnight19: I got your review and felt the urge to update!

Boy's Don't Cry: don't worry, House will still have a job to go back to!

nodaiibuttodaii: I _did _know about their engagement, and hope that they'll be very happy together. But as for Cam/Chase...

Saucyduck: Thanks, I love writing it!

danishdynamite, SilvaK, Psycho Strider, Dr. Cameron, sweetgreuy: thank you for all of those lovely reviews!

whoKMH: I'm glad that you saw the parallel between the new (and improved!) conference room and our lovely sunny Cam!

v-volatile: thanks for your review a couple of chapters back. I'm working hard to keep everyone in character (or to make them being out of character believable!)

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's a new style that I'm trying out so please let me know what you think. I know that some of you might be disappointed with it, because it goes over everything so fast, but I really want to get House back quickly so that the sparks can fly!

* * *

With the House-problem pretty much disposed of, Allison Cameron felt that she could relax and get on with her job.

The fact that his job (now her job) was helping her keep her mind off recent traumatic events was, admittedly, ironic. But she tried not to think about it too much. Indeed, she tried not to think about House at all; which wasn't easy, since everyone in the hospital was comparing the two of them and evaluating her skills as Department Head.

Foreman and Chase had eventually got over her appointment as their boss. When they realised that she wasn't there to make their lives hell (like House always tried to do) they settled down and started to enjoy themselves.

They enjoyed Cameron's new method of working, and a little friendly competition had sprung up between them; it was always a race to see which one of them could diagnose their patient first. Although there was more work, Cameron made none of the unreasonable demands that House had; they weren't expected to perform tests all night, or lie to patients, or do everything she said without question. She expected them to talk about each other's cases and to try and help each other out. She had increased their clinic hours slightly (they knew that these counted against House's deficit, but both of them turned a blind eye). Allison was in before them every morning, and still in the office when they headed home at night. She continued to make the best coffee they had every tasted and never expected them to answer her mail. Even better, she gave them the most interesting cases and encouraged them to take to time research the articles that they were both writing and hoping to get published in medical journals.

In short, she was pretty close to being a perfect boss. And if sometimes she was a little snappy with them or a little evasive (especially if either of them remarked that she was looking tired), then it was nothing to compare to House's biting sarcasm and irritating smugness.

The two doctors soon settled into things and began to forget what it was like to have a jerk as their boss. They accepted Cameron's efforts to make the office a healthy working environment as the norm, and got on with things.

As for Cameron, since Cuddy had asked her to take over as Head of Diagnostics, her life had changed dramatically.

She did, on average, three hours of clinic duty a day. Only the minimum were logged as being 'Dr. Cameron's clinic hours'- the rest went against House's deficit. Cuddy knew what was going on, but she turned a blind eye- partially because it was none of her business how Cameron chose to keep herself occupied, but mostly because they were always short-staffed at the clinic. So, she kept her mouth shut, and Cameron was to be seen in the clinic (on weekends as well as during the week), dressed in a lab-coat that was three sizes too big for her and wearing a name-tag that read: 'Dr. House.'

If the clinic took up a lot of her time, it was nothing to the amount of time her patients took up. Finally free to choose them herself, she became less selective, not more. Most of the letters and emails she received (all addressed to House, of course) she answered to with positive responses. They averaged six patients a week (some of them overlapping), but Allison wished they could help more. It seemed that the more letters and emails she responded to, the more there were the following day.

Of course, helping people wasn't the only reason that she was working herself to the bone.

House might call her 'weak' and 'naïve', but she was no fool. She was aware that pretty much everyone in the hospital was waiting for her to fall flat on her face. Those who weren't, thought that she was incapable of running a department. To them, she was sweet, innocent Allison Cameron who'd quit her job and come back because she liked her boss. It wasn't that they didn't like her, it was just that her (temporary) promotion set a dangerous precedent. Now, more experienced doctors who had not yet reached such an elevated position were wary.

Cuddy was also watching her like a hawk.

She'd promised Cameron a free rein, but that didn't mean she couldn't monitor what she was up to. Allison knew it, and she understood it. Cuddy had given her the promotion. If anything went wrong, it would be Cuddy's ass on the line.

One of the reasons her boss had kept her word and not interfered with her team was because Cameron had unexpectedly discovered that she had a flair for generating income.

Since she'd taken on the role of Department Head, donations had been flooding in. It was ironic that the qualities that House had always found so annoying and useless in her were now securing donations to his department. The patients liked the way she always tried to find time for them. She was often to be found in the hospital, late at night, chatting to one of her patient's or watching tv with them. The patients' families liked her frankness and her ability to guide them through the inevitable medical jargon that ordinarily left them confused and uneasy.

So, the money rolled in without even having to ask for it, and Cuddy turned a blind eye to the overtime that Dr. Cameron put in- that she knew about, of course.

Cameron actually worked far more than anyone realised. In order to hide the fact from Cuddy, she developed little tricks: like bringing her paperwork home with her instead of doing it in the office (which would have wasted valuable time) or coming in hours earlier than her boss and then pretending that she'd arrived only a few minutes before her.

Yes, she was busy. She was working flat out. But it wasn't just the insane desire to 'fix' people (as House would say) that motivated her. No, she quickly realised that she wasn't working hard enough.

No matter how much time she spent at work, she couldn't avoid the inevitable night alone in her apartment. There, away from the buzz of the hospital, the image of House being shot would come back to haunt her. She dreamt of it when she slept; she saw it when she woke. Even as she worked, it was somewhere in the back of her mind, coiled like a snake, waiting to strike when she was at her most vulnerable. She still managed to sleep, but it was in short staccato bursts; a few hours snatched here and there (and often in House's office chair where she felt safest, for some strange reason that she didn't care to examine).

But when she was alone at home, and it all got too much for her, she would get up out of bed, get dressed and drag her weary body to the piano bar that she'd discovered the day that House woke up from his coma. The music soothed her, and was sometimes the only way she could get the horrible image of him bleeding out of her head.

She supposed that it didn't help that the last time she'd seen him, his life had been hanging in the balance.

How many times had she told herself that going to see him would make it all better? But for some strange reason she couldn't. In the three weeks that he'd lain in that hospital bed, only two floors away from her, recovering from his wounds, she hadn't been able to make it to his room. It wasn't that she hadn't tried, it was just that every time she did, an invisible force seemed to hold her back.

After he'd been discharged, the nurse with whom she'd struck a deal had become useless to her.

Since he was now doing rehab for him leg, she'd batted her eyelashes at the young doctor who was treating him, bought him lunch- and managed to get House's schedule from him. While Chase had been jealous (her turning down his offer of a drink hadn't stopped him from repeating it over and over until she wanted to explain to him _exactly _why she wasn't interested in him), she had been delighted. The schedule allowed her to know where House was- so that she could be elsewhere.

She kept herself so busy that she had no time to examine her odd behaviour or analyse feelings that she was working hard to keep buried. Most of the time she felt comfortably numb- and that was the way she wanted to keep it.

The only real pleasure she allowed herself was lunch with Wilson.

No matter how busy she was, or how many tests she needed to run, she made a point of taking a half hour break (minimum) with him in the cafeteria. Not only did he fill her in on how House was doing (without her even having to ask), but he was a genuinely funny guy that she soon realised she had a lot in common with. She was aware that he was missing House around the hospital, and he suspected the she was missing his best friend just as much as he was (if not more, because she hadn't seen him since the 'incident').

So, neither of them said anything about missing House; they eat their food and chatted about everything and anything. And a quiet, serene sort of normality descended on the team, the clinic and the hospital in general (never was House's disturbing ability to rock the boat more evident than when it was removed).

But then, Allison Cameron had that effect on people.

* * *

AN: How was that? Please let me know ! By the way, all the stuff I put (about fundraising and everything) all have a purpose, so I wasn't just writing crap for the sake of it. Please review! 


	13. Slow, deep breaths

Disclaimer: not mine

So, I wrote lovely messages to everyone who reviewed...but fanfiction wouldn't let me save the changes- arrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh! I'm too lazy to write them out again (sorry!) but thanks for all your comments- I would't keep writing without them!

Enjoy!

* * *

It was roughly two months after House was shot that Dr.Cuddy called Allison Cameron into her office.

In the time that the younger doctor had been filling House's shoes, Lisa had gained a new respect for her. It was hard to imagine that this confident, self-assured woman who sat before her had just been another one of House's ducklings. It had been a surprise to see that she stood, in fact, head and shoulders above the other two. She didn't have Chase's cunning or Foreman's blind ambition, but what she had was far more valuable: she had integrity- something that her boss hadn't valued in her very much and had done his best to eradicate. It might sound small, but it made her the strong person that she was today. Like House, she did things because they were right, but there the similarity ended. His quest for the truth and desire to be right sprang from selfish motives. Medicine for him, wasn't about curing patients, it was about fighting diseases. Cuddy sometimes thought that if there hadn't been any medical puzzles to solve that he would have gone into police work. He didn't want to cure patients, he _needed _to find out why.

As for Cameron, she had become a doctor to help people. That was what drove her: the desire to fix something that it was in her power to fix, because sometimes it felt like everything else was out of her control. The fact that she cared about her patients, in the same way that James Wilson cared, was what made her a good doctor. She might never be a brilliant diagnostician like House, but then, she sure as hell would never get shot by one of her patients.

And she knew how to play ball. The fund-raising that she had been discreetly doing was impressive. Lisa Cuddy couldn't help but wonder if Dr. Cameron didn't have all the qualities needed to step into _her_ shoes some day…

With an effort, she dragged herself away from her musings and turned her attention to the matter at hand.

"I just wanted to let you know that Dr. House is coming back to work tomorrow."

Allison felt like she'd just been sucker-punched. She'd been so set on keeping her mind off House that she hadn't even realised that he'd be coming back soon.

She nodded calmly, but inwardly she was screaming: '_I'm not ready. I'm not ready.'_

"In that case, Dr. Cuddy, I wonder if I could take some time off. You won't really need me around if House is coming back, and the case load's been heavy this week."

'_The past two months, you mean,'_ her boss thought, but she only said: "How long were you thinking of?"

How long was she thinking of? How much time did someone need to sort their life out?

"Two weeks."

"That's fine. When will you be starting your vacation?" she asked it, even though she already knew the answer.

Dr. Cameron stood up: "Today."

* * *

I'm gonna post the next chapter now, because that one was very short. Please review!


	14. House has entered the building

Disclaimer: not mine- but I do enjoy playing with them!

House is back...

* * *

If the staff at Princeton Plainsboro were expecting a changed man in Dr. Greggory House they were to be sadly disappointed.

He arrived a work on his bike- late and sarcastic as ever. He was just missing his cane.

Lisa Cuddy greeted him at the entrance.

"Welcome back, House."

"I see the twins have been keeping well," his suggestive tone left no doubt in her mind as to what he was referring to.

She suppressed the urge to fold her arms over her chest, and instead rolled her eyes: "It's nice to see that being _shot_ hasn't changed you," she spoke with a touch of asperity.

"Comforting isn't it?"

"I need to see you in my office as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline," he made a mock-apologetic face, "I'm still in recovery- the doctor says no more mid-morning office-sex."

"As soon as possible, House," she repeated with emphasis.

"I have clinic duty," he replied craftily.

"No you don't," she replied firmly, "It's all been taken care of. Be in my office in fifteen minutes. Don't be late." And with that, she turned and walked off into her office.

* * *

When House reached his office, he thought that he was hallucinating again.

Why the hell had happened? The decorating fairy had apparently struck again. His conference room was unrecognisable, but his office…his office was just the same.

He stood staring down at the patch on the cream carpet where the bloodstain should have been; was this Cuddy's idea of a welcome-back gift?

"House."

He turned to see two of his ducklings standing behind him.

"Welcome back," Foreman said awkwardly.

It was strange to see House standing in exactly the same spot he had been shot in, and even stranger to see him standing without a cane.

"Any new cases? Or should I just stand here, waiting for you two to explain what the hell happened to my office?" he spoke with his usual bite.

The two exchanged glances.

"What about your office?" Chase asked after an uncertain pause, then he almost cringed at the stupidity of his question.

His boss rolled his eyes: "It looks like something out of a magazine- and the rugs been replaced."

"House," Foreman began uneasily, "the rug was replaced because it was covered in blood."

"Yes, my blood. I remember. I _was_ there," his voice gave no indication that he felt anything about the incident, "That doesn't answer my question; who had it replaced?"

"All- Cuddy," Chase replied hurriedly.

His boss just looked at him until the Australian dropped his guilty gaze to the floor.

"Hmmm," he said, clearly showing that he didn't believe him, "And where's Cameron?"

"I'm sure she's around," Foreman made a vague gesture as though he expected her to appear in the doorway at any moment, "Look, Chase and I have clinic duty. We'll see you later on."

The two doctors made their escape.

"Interesting," House muttered to himself.

"What's interesting?"

He looked over his shoulder to see his friend leaning against the door of the conference room.

"Cameron's not here."

James Wilson gave a cursory glance around the room: "I can see that. Don't you have a meeting with Cuddy?"

"Yeah. She cornered me as I was coming into the hospital," he watched his friend closely, "She told me that me clinic duty's been 'taken care of'"

Wilson dropped his eyes.

"Interesting."

"What?"

"You don't want to tell me anything either."

"I have a patient," James turned to leave, "You should talk to Cuddy."

* * *

"Dr. Cuddy," House said as he barged into her office, "You changed my carpet."

"You're late," she replied, not looking up from the file on her desk.

"I was in the clinic," she looked at him then- disbelief written all over her face. "You know me," he continued, "_love_ that place."

"Right."

"So…do you mind if we get this over with quickly? General Hospital's on in-" he checked his watch, "thirteen minutes."

"It'll have to wait," she responded as she walked around her desk and went to shut the door, "Why don't you sit down, House?"

He just looked at her.

"How's your leg?"

"Do you really want to talk about my health? Or do you want to tell me what's going on?"

She sighed as she sat down on the couch.

"I didn't shut down the department like I told you," she paused for a moment, steeling herself to go on, "Dr. Cameron's been running things while you were away."

There was a deathly silence.

And when he did speak, there was anger as well as disbelief in his voice: "You gave _Cameron_ my job?"

* * *

AN: Well, how was that? House is really difficult to write, so I hope I did a good job. Please let me know if there's any way I can improve.


	15. Venting

Disclaimer: not mine sadly...

Thanks to everyone who reviewed- I really appreciate it! My particular thanks to:

Dr Cameron: for consistantly letting me know what you think. (And for a very sweet review)

Psycho Strider: I hope you like this chapter.

SilvaK: I got your review and felt the urge to update! LOL

beachbabe23: I'm glad that you thought I did House ok. Please let me know what you think for him in this chapter.

danishdynamite: I love getting your reviews!

Lady Knight 19: Never fear, there'll be interaction between the two of them real soon...

Saucy-Duck: I find angry House so much more appealing than caring House...LOL

MedicalGeek: This is for you!

So, I hope that you guys think this chapter is ok. Please let me know! Enjoy!

* * *

While Dr. House was trying his best to burst Lisa Cuddy's eardrums with his exceptionally loud yelling, Allison Cameron was venting in her own way.

After her conversation with her boss, she'd gone to House's office to wrap a few things up, explained to the boys that she was taking some time off, said goodbye to James Wilson, and headed home.

A quick phone call to a friend who'd been offering her the use of his cabin in Maine for what seemed like forever (she'd always refused, but there was a first time for everything) and a packed suitcase later, she was on her way.

The radio blared as she took to the freeway, blotting out her thoughts; pushing back down every emotion that threatened to rise to the surface.

It was late when she got there. And she was tired. Very tired.

As soon as she stepped out of the car she felt it- silence. It enveloped her and soothed her. She heard only the far away hoot of an owl that was roosting beyond the tall pine trees which crowded the cabin. The moon was up and the stars were out, and finally she was somewhere that she didn't have to pretend anymore; she could just be herself.

She took a deep healing breath, and mounted the steps.

Allison calmly let herself in with the key her friend had given her, silently shut the door behind her, and carefully placed her case on the floor.

And all of a sudden everything came rushing up- everything that she had squashed back down inside of her, and kept locked away with an iron will.

She stared blindly ahead as realisation struck her: "I'm in love with him," she said blankly, but there was no one to hear her.

Suddenly she wasn't an organised boss and a hard-as-nails career-woman, she was just someone who was finally coming out of a three-month period of self-enforced numbness.

She couldn't think; she could only feel, and clutch at the door handle for support as she slid weeping to the floor.

* * *

When Dr. Wilson judged that it was time to intervene, he slipped into Cuddy's office without knocking. Not that they would have heard him if he had.

House's furious shouting was echoing across the clinic, and- not for the first time- Dr. Cuddy thanked her lucky stars that her office was on the ground floor rather than upstairs near…say, the ICU- or some other ward where distraught relatives gathered to say goodbye to their loved ones. House's too frequent shouting would have been too much of an intrusion. But now she wondered idly if, in fact, their grief would have acted as a sort of muffler- even House wouldn't be so selfish as to destroy a painful leave-taking with his senseless yelling. Or maybe he would. You could never tell what he was going to do.

She sat back in her seat and watched him pacing angrily. She'd given up trying to reason with him about fifteen minutes ago, and now she was waiting patiently for him to tire himself out.

It was strange. In all the time she'd known him, she didn't think she'd even see him so angry. She'd seen him laugh, cry (when he'd said goodbye to Stacey before they put him in the coma for the pain in his leg- but then that was probably due to the fact that he'd been in unbelievable pain), be pissy and sarcastic- but never this angry.

It was almost funny to watch.

Almost.

It would have been hilarious, if she hadn't been carefully watching his leg, rather than giving herself up to the pleasure of being entertained by House completely losing his head.

"House!" Wilson shouted at him from the door, effectively cutting him off, "Calm down."

His friend paused in his manic pacing to stare at him.

Realisation dawned.

"This was _your_ idea," he said it accusingly as he advanced on his friend, "Is she sleeping with you? Is that why you decided to recommend her? That girl couldn't diagnose a _cold_!"

"That's enough!" It was Cuddy who spoke.

She was on her feet, her eyes blazing and she didn't looked the slightest bit amused.

"_I_ made the decision to give Dr. Cameron your job. I had my doubts about her, but you know what? It was the best decision I could have made. Not only did she not kill anyone," she shot him a particularly dirty look here- it was what he'd been screaming about for the past five minutes, "but she managed to get all her paper work done _on time_, treat more patients than you treat in a _year_, _and_ (with Foreman and Chase's help) _clear all of your clinic hours_."

He just stared at her.

"You're getting angry for no reason," Wilson chimed in, "Allison did a terrific job."

House shot his friend a look before turning his attention back to Cuddy.

"I want all of Cameron's charts- _every single one_," he barked, "And I want my old carpet put back- and my office sorted out."

Wilson and Cuddy exchanged a look.

"Right now," he insisted, "or I'm not leaving."

He lowered himself into a chair and crossed his arms: waiting.

* * *

AN: How was that? I'm mostly nervous about Cameron's part. Was it too weird??


	16. When in Rome

Disclaimer: Not mine.

This chapter is just a quick one dedicated to SilvaK who reminded me that I haven't updated in a while- sorry!

I hope you like it- and I promise that in the next chapter Cammie will be coming back.

Please review!

* * *

House got his charts. But Cuddy didn't bend on the carpet issue. As a result, the conference room stood empty. House and his team scrounged for office space whenever they could and, failing that, he set up camp in the clinic.

Loud confrontations between him and Cuddy followed his differentials outside her office, but still she didn't buckle. He got the impression that she was waiting for something.

* * *

"Arrgh," Lisa Cuddy slammed her office door behind her, "Sometimes I just want to kill that man."

James Wilson smiled sympathetically: "What did House do now?"

"Laser pointer," she replied shortly, his glance clearly asked her to elaborate, "I was in a board meeting."

Comprehension dawned.

"I'm sorry."

It seemed so inadequate, but what was he supposed to say? Neither of them could control House (no matter how much Cuddy liked to pretend she had some influence over him). He was a law unto himself.

"It's only been _three_ days!" Lisa's tone was one of exasperation.

"At least he's got a patient," Wilson offered. But it was poor comfort- the family of the girl he was treating had already lodged a complaint for what they termed 'Dr. House's unprofessional behaviour' after he'd accused her of having a secret coke-habit. The doctor in question had responded by calling them all idiots. It was true (the girl _was _hooked on cocaine, and her not disclosing it _had_ interfered with the diagnosis), but it wasn't really something that a serious Department Head should say. Cameron would have handled it differently.

"One patient. No clinic hours. _And_ he's disrupting all my meetings," Cuddy scoffed at the other doctor's assertion.

She collapsed onto her couch and lay back.

"I've got a headache from all the yelling, and he never leaves me alone for more than an hour," she moaned, "I can't believe that I almost forgot what a pain in the ass he is."

"Why don't you just give him back his old carpet? I mean, if he's really causing that much trouble…"

"But I _can't_," she wailed, "I don't know where it is! Don't you think I'd have given it back to him straight away if I'd known he was going to be like this?"

Wilson preserved a sympathetic silence.

"God I wish Cameron were here!"

He looked faintly surprised.

"What?" She sat up, her eyes searching her face.

"Well…I don't know if this is a good idea," his voice was hesitant.

"At this stage, I'll try anything," Cuddy said dryly.

He smiled: "I figured. It's just that Allison left me a number where I could reach her- in case of emergencies."

A thoughtful look came over Cuddy's face; "What constitutes an emergency?"

He sat down: "I don't know, she didn't say," he paused for a moment, "Do you think having her here would do any good?"

She thought about if for a second: "A few months ago, I would have said no. But now…she's grown so much over the past while…" she trailed off, "At least she could get House off my back about the carpet," he looked at her enquiringly, so she went on, "She organised getting rid of it."

There was a long pause.

"She really needs a vacation, you know."

"I know, Wilson, I know," Cuddy sighed, "but I think the hospital needs her here."

"I'm sure she'd be glad to hear that," he smiled faintly.

"Why did House want her patient charts?" Cuddy asked suddenly.

"He's checking them to see if she made some huge mistake that he can taunt her with later."

"It sounds like him."

Silence fell for a long moment.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Cuddy sighed again: "I don't know."

James Wilson leaned forward in his seat; "I think the question is: how long more can you put up with House?…"

* * *

AN: What did you think? I like these two as friends...maybe more, who knows? Please review!


	17. Musings

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

Sorry about the delay in updating- the stupid exams have left me so little time to write. I'm posting two chapters, so please read them both...and let me know what you think!

Thanks for all those reviews (for my last fic and for this one). Especially:

SilvaK: I hope that you like this chapter- and the next one!

Limaccia: I hope that you like their meeting for the first time.

saz89: My feelings exactly... :)

SaucyDuck: I hope to provide a lot more angry House!

Enjoy!

* * *

Cuddy held out for a week before calling Allison Cameron and practically begging her to come back. Well, Cuddy's version of begging anyway. She'd told the younger doctor that the department needed her, and that if she could cut her vacation short it would be much appreciated.

Neither of them mentioned House.

Cuddy didn't because she didn't want to have to lie about his behaviour (in case it kept Cameron away), and Allison didn't because even though she'd come to terms with the horrifying realisation that she was in love with her boss, she wasn't really ready to talk about him with anyone.

On the day she'd arrived, after an exhausting crying jag, she managed to drag herself to bed and fall into a deep sleep. She spent two days in bed allowing her body to finally get the rest it had been craving, as well as letting herself finally come to terms with everything that had happened. When she could no longer stay inside feeling sorry for herself, she got up, got dressed and went for long walks in the beautiful forests that surrounded the cabin. It was strange, but although she was totally alone, she didn't feel lonely. Being cut off from the rest of the world had allowed her time and space to finally get in touch with herself.

But now she was heading back to the real world- something she was apprehensive about.

She was _dying_ to see House. It had been months since she'd ran alongside his gurney, desperately trying to stem the bleeding. She needed at least to reassure herself that he was ok. But for some reason half of her was terrified.

Would he be the same? Would he be different? Would he still be House?

She tossed and turned that night, dreading but longing for tomorrow when she would finally see House.

* * *

AN: Yes, yes, I know. This chapter is WAY too short! However, it needed to be separated from the next one, and I wasn't about to bore you with another long angsty chapter about Cameron's _feelings_. So, I hope that you read and like the next one (I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that you'll review this one- but please let me know what you think of the next one!). 


	18. Ding ding fight!

Disclaimer: not mine.

I hope you liked the last chapter (even though it was really short). Please let me know what you think of this one!

* * *

Allison Cameron checked her watch as she strode through the entrance of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital wearing her lab-coat.

8.58.

She was right on time.

Now all she had to do was get in that elevator, go to the third floor and walk into her boss' office as cool as a cucumber. Piece of cake. Yeah right, she thought sarcastically. She could feel herself clenching already.

She almost made it to the elevator when she heard a small voice call out behind her.

"Dr. House!"

Cameron turned, expecting so see House somewhere in the lobby. Instead, she saw one of the clinic patients she had treated before she left racing towards her. An adorable little four-year-old, she had presented with a nasty rash that covered her whole body, obscuring her hopeful face and making her miserable because of the unbearable itchiness. Cameron had discovered that the cause was a food allergy, and recommended that she avoid wheat.

There was no sign of the rash now. The hopeful face was beaming. The young girl grasped a box of chocolates in her hand and was followed by her somewhat embarrassed-looking mother.

"Dr. House! Dr. House!" Her voice was much louder. People turned to look at them.

As she girl reached her, Cameron instinctively reached out to pick her up and twirl her around.

"Jessica, how are you?" The young doctor asked the girl in her arms.

"I didn't think you'd remember us," he mother said quietly as she reached the pair.

"Of course I remember you, Mrs. Pitt," the doctor, shifting the girl to her left hip as she proffered a hand, "How are you? I can see that your daughter is feeling much better."

"Thanks to you," her mother smiled her pleasure that Cameron had remembered them was evident.

Jessica squirmed a little, so Cameron set her down.

"These are for you, Dr. House," the little girl held out the chocolates and a now-crumpled card that she had made herself.

Cameron took them smilingly, "Thank you. I really didn't do anything but thank you."

Mrs. Pitt shook her head: "The other doctor just assumed that it was an allergy to our washing powder. He didn't even bother to run any tests."

"Well, I'm glad she's feeling better."

"Anyway, we just wanted to thank you."

"It was nothing," Cameron repeated, "But thank you for the beautiful card and the chocolates."

The mother and the little girl took their leave- but not before Jessica bestowed another quick hug on Cameron.

Allison watched them leave thoughtfully. Then she turned her attention to the card. Sure enough, it read: 'To Dr. House, I'm not red and scratchy anymore! Thank you. Love, Jess. XXX'

Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to pass herself off as 'Dr. House' while doing his clinic hours. It was what they had always done. But, still…

She felt a jolt as she turned to find her boss leaning against the wall between the elevators and watching her with a clinical gaze in his clear blue eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the lack of expression in his face. The second thing she noticed was that he didn't have his cane.

Was he still the same House?

They stared at each other a moment, each trying to read the other's thoughts. Then he spoke and put her doubts to rest:

"So, not content with stealing my job, you decided to steal my name as well," he pushed himself off the wall and stepped towards her, "Just so you know, taking my last name doesn't make us legally married- sorry to disappoint you," there was a sarcastic inflection in his tone that spoke of anger.

She had her answer.

"Hello, House," it was remarkable inadequate, but somehow she knew that he wouldn't appreciate her first instinct- which was to run to him, put her arms around him and never let him go.

"Did you have fun playing 'House' while I was away?" It was a very bad pun, but he seemed quite pleased with it, "It seems you couldn't resist the urge to play little Suzy homemaker instead."

She knew it was only a joke- one at her expense, but a joke nevertheless. Still, she felt her pulse quicken with anger. Did he seriously think she'd had _fun_ while he was away?

"I probably had a much fun as you did going through rehab for your leg," she shot back, without meaning to snap. She took a calming breath and then asked: "Do we have a case?"

"_We_ have a case," her boss stressed, "_You _have clinic duty."

"For how long?"

"For as long as I say you do," he responded almost aggressively, before turning away and taking the stairs two at a time.

She watched his progress in admiration for a second, allowing herself to breathe a sigh of relief. That wasn't _that_ bad- no worse than having teeth pulled without anaesthetic, she thought with grim humour. Although, for their first meeting in months, it was bit of a let down. Was that good or bad? she wondered thoughtfully.

But, seriously, indefinite clinic duty?

"We'll see about that," Allison said quietly with determination in her voice.

* * *

AN: Ok, some of you might be a little disappointed, but there is no way that they would have a screaming match in the lobby- NO WAY! So...I thought I'd start off a little gently, before easing into the real conflict. Anyway, how was that? I hoped that you enjoyed it. Please let me know!


	19. I need a hero!

Disclaimer: not mine!

So, here's the deal: I'm going to be mainly working on this fic from now on. I'm hoping to get it written as soon as possible and (of course) to post it as regularly as I can. _However_, reviews make me write faster so... ;)

My thanks to all of you lovely people who reviewed. I LOVE you!

Especially:

beachbabe23: I'll try to do longer chapters...I'll _try_...

danishdynamite: I'm so glad that you've been following the fic. I adore getting your reviews!

Saucy-Duck: I didn't even think about the whole Foreman and Chase thing! You really are a mine of ideas!

saz89: I promise that conflict is on the way!

SilvaK: There'll be loads of conflict in Ch21!

Lady Knight 19: I hope you like this chapter, but I promise to get the conflict up as soon as possible!

beachbabe23: Even House doesn't know why he's so mad! I hope to get it explained in a few more chapters!

This chapter is dedicated to one of my favourite reviewers, Dr Cameron. Thanks for all the support!

Enjoy!

* * *

Lisa Cuddy was chatting to Dr. Wilson in her office when her assistant walked in and announced Dr. Allison Cameron.

"Send her in please," Cuddy told the young man while exchanging a quick glance with Wilson.

Cameron walked into the room. She looked totally calm and rested after her vacation and was showing none of the anxiety that her meeting with House had brought on.

"Dr. Cameron," Cuddy gave her a friendly smile and motioned to her to sit down, "It's great to have you back."

Allison decided to cut to the chase: "Thanks. Sadly, I don't think everyone feels the same way," she answered as she settled herself on the couch.

Wilson gave an almost inaudible sigh: "You saw House already."

She nodded.

"And?" Cuddy prompted as she sat too.

"And I have clinic duty until House decides otherwise," she gave Cuddy a hard look, "You know, a heads-up would have been nice."

"We thought that if you knew how he's been acting lately you wouldn't want to come back early," The older doctor explained feeling a little ashamed.

Cameron nodded sagely; she had expected as much.

"Well, why don't you tell me how he's been acting? His leg's not giving him any trouble is it?" she couldn't keep the concern out of her voice.

"No, no. His leg's been fine," Wilson hastened to reassure her, "But he _has_ been a bit…um…difficult."

Cuddy sighed and tried to put into words what Wilson wouldn't say: "He's refusing to work in his office until it's back to normal," she told the immunologist bluntly.

"Which is?"

"Which is, all his old furniture back the way it was," Cuddy clarified,_ "and_ his blood-stained carpet."

"Right," Cameron said in an even tone, "What else?"

"He's been doing his differentials all over the hospital to try and disrupt things as much as possible, he's only treated two patients, he won't do his clinic hours and there have already been two complaints filed against him by relatives ," Cuddy told her.

"And?" Cameron knew that there was something that they weren't telling her.

"He's been going through every single one of your patient files," James Wilson said apologetically, "He's…eh…hoping to find some mistakes."

Allison nodded calmly.

"You don't seem too surprised," the oncologist commented.

The young doctor cracked a smile, "I expected as much from House," she told them, "Besides, he can look all he wants. He's not going to find anything."

Wilson and Cuddy looked at each other. She seemed to be taking the news that House was trying to undermine everything she had achieved in the short time that she had been department head very well.

Cameron leaned forward in her seat: "Ok. Just so we're absolutely clear, what exactly are my parameters?"

"Parameters?" Cuddy echoed. She hadn't a clue what the immunologist was talking about.

"Parameters," Allison said firmly, "I mean, I am right in assuming that you asked me to come back early to stop House from wrecking everything- amn't I?"

The Dean of Medicine hadn't been about to put it quite so bluntly, but that was exactly why she had asked Cameron back- to restore the balance that had been upset by House's whirlwind behaviour.

"Pretty much," Wilson answered her, impressed that the young doctor had caught on so quickly.

"Ok. Well, what are my parameters?" she asked again, "How far can I go? Do I still have to follow all of House's orders? Can I use my own discretion? And if he decides to fire me, am I actually going to be fired?" It was as close as she was going to get to asking for diplomatic immunity.

Cuddy gave a faint smile. Allison Cameron was no fool. She knew what she as up against. Cuddy was only surprised that no one had recognised the young doctor's ability to play the game expertly. Such professionalism was, in her opinion, just as valuable as House's brilliance.

The Dean of Medicine leaned slightly forward in her seat and said frankly, "To be honest, neither of us," she glanced at Wilson, "have been able to deal with House. If you could try to restore some order in the department," 'and the hospital' she added mentally, "I think the board would be so grateful that we'd be willing to give you a sizeable raise."

Or a terrific reference for another hospital, Cameron thought to herself but she didn't say it. Now wasn't the time to think about leaving. It was something that she had been toying with on her week's vacation but she had to see what working with House was like first.

She got to her feet, favouring the other two doctors with a faint smile: "I'll see what I can do," she said gravely.

When she'd exited the room, Cuddy leaned back in her chair, sighing with relief: "That's all I wanted to hear."

But Wilson't eyes followed Cameron. He didn't share Cuddy's optimism. He wasn't sure if Cameron would be able to have any effect on House's behaviour. And even if she did, it would hardly be instantaneous. Something told him that there would be a lot more skirmishes to come.

* * *

AN: Please review! It only takes a minute, and it make me so happy! I think I'm going to post the next chapter too...


	20. Fire burn and cauldron bubble

Disclaimer: Not mine.

I wanted to post this one with the last one because it sort of sets the scene for the conflict to come.

This chapter is dedicated to Saucy-Duck who gave me the idea of making things difficult for Chase and Foreman. Hmmm, to obey House or Cameron...that is the question...

* * *

Chase was putting change into the coffee machine when his beeper went off causing him to jump. He cursed as the coins rolled over the floor. As far as he was concerned, the sooner they started using the conference room again the better. He was sick of having to drink the bloody coffee from the machine; it was expensive and it tasted horrible.

He angrily jerked his beeper off his belt and looked at it.

"That's odd," the Australian said to himself.

It was a page from Cameron.

'_Find Foreman. Meet in conference room. Don't tell H.'_ it read.

So Allison's back, he thought to himself.

Suddenly he was smiling and he forgot all about his loose change as he went off in search of Foreman.

* * *

"It's great to have you back," Foreman's smile was genuine.

"Have you seen House yet?" Chase asked curiously.

"We met earlier on in the lobby," Cameron responded airily.

Foreman and Chase exchanged a glance.

"And?" The Australian finally prompted when it appeared that she wasn't about to elaborate.

"And?" she parroted back at him, a faint smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

"What did he _say_?" Chase asked her with something close to irritation in his voice.

"Oh. The usual. Just House being House," seeing the annoyed look on his face she took pity on him and went on, "He wants me to do clinic duty while you guys work on the case."

"I'm sorry," Foreman said sympathetically.

"That's ok," she replied cheerfully, "I'm not doing it."

The other two doctors looked surprised.

Chase spoke with concern, "Um, Allison, you do know that House is back in charge, don't you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Relax, would you?" Cameron gave them both a wide smile, "House may run the department, but he doesn't run the hospital."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, Foreman, that Cuddy runs House," she was speaking in riddles.

"Right. And she's been doing such a great job over the last week," Eric cut in sarcastically then, as the thought struck him, he added, "Weren't you supposed to be on vacation for two weeks?"

"Right, as always, Foreman," Cameron smiled at him, "And yes, I _did_ hear that Cuddy was having trouble with House."

"Who from?" Chase asked in confusion. She'd only been in the hospital an hour.

"Cuddy," she replied carelessly as she began to make a pot of coffee.

"Cuddy?"

"Why, yes, Chase. I think that's what I just said," she replied, poking gentle fun at his disbelief.

"Cameron, would you just tell us what's going on?"

She could tell Foreman was really irritated by the way he reverted to her last name.

Cameron turned from the counter to look at them both seriously.

"How would you two like to start working from the conference room again?" she asked them, already knowing what the answer would be.

"That'd be great!" Chase replied enthusiastically.

"And how'd you like to have your own cases- like you had before House came back?"

It was a no-brainer. They were already sick of the way their boss had begun mocking their ideas again.

"And how'd you two like to get even with House for the way he's been over-working you for the past week?" There was a smile in her eyes.

"How did you-"

Allison cut Foreman off: "You both look like shit," she explained bluntly, but the laugh in her voice took the sting out of her words.

Ever the cautious one, Chase asked: "What do we have to do?"

She smiled at them widely. "Be brave. All you have to do is be brave."

Neither of them had a clue what that meant, but the both had the feeling that it meant pissing off House.

Ordinarily, they both would have laughed and said no. But in the airy and comforting conference room with the smell of Cameron's delicious coffee wafting towards them, it was easy to remember how pleasant things had been before House came back and started trying to make them miserable again. Brilliant diagnostician he might be, but Cameron had correctly sussed that he didn't know squat about cultivating loyalty among his employees. And if loyalty had to be bought with hot coffee and a few smiles, well….it was all for the good of the hospital, Allison thought to herself.

The two doctors hesitated.

She picked up the pot: "Coffee, anyone?" she asked innocently.

As the Hawaiian Blue hit their taste buds, Cameron knew that she had won.

* * *

AN: Wow. Cameron even manages to impress me sometimes- who knew she was so scheming??LOL Please let me know what you thought! (Review lots and I'll put up the conflict chapter tomorrow...)


	21. First round

Disclaimer: not mine.

So...I got your really _lovely _reviews and I just HAD to update!

I really hope that you like this chapter. I enjoyed writing it anyway!

Please let me know and thanks for your reviews.

Especially:

SilvaK: This is for you! (Cos you like the conflict so much!)

Saz89: I really hope you like this chapter.

Limaccia: Hello again! I hope that you've been enjoying the fic so far.

violetbeetles29: I read your review and just _had _to post this chapter!

Boys Don't Cry: Yes, I like the idea of Chase and Foreman being seduced and turning to the dark side for a good cup of coffee...but then, coffee from vending machines really SUCKS!

I hope you guys like this chapter. As ever, I would LOVE to know what you think.

Enjoy!

* * *

There was something odd going on in the hospital.

Everyone seemed to know something that he didn't.

Greggory House hadn't seen Foreman and Chase since he'd sent them off to do a battery of tests on his latest victim/patient/whatever. Cameron, he hadn't seen since he'd ordered her to got o the clinic. Still…he _knew_ there was something going on. He just wasn't sure what it was yet.

He checked the clock on the wall of gynaecologists' break room. 11.34am. His ducklings should have come back to him with something by now and Cuddy should have been yelling about something that he had or hadn't done. Instead, nothing.

He got to his feet. It was time to find out what was going on around here.

He walked through the lobby trying to ignore the furtive glances that were being sent his way.

Hmmm.

Perhaps he'd better check where his youngest duckling was right now. He didn't feel like talking to her- he was still too furious, but for some reason he wanted to know just what she was up to.

The nurse at the desk in the clinic was studiously ignoring him, so he banged hard on the counter to get her attention.

The young woman jumped, as did half of the people waiting in the clinic.

"Oh, good, you're up. For a second there I thought you'd dozed off," House told her sarcastically, "What exam room is Dr. Cameron in?"

The poor woman looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Dr. Cameron?"

"You know- leggy brunette, has the hots for me," he explained in a mock-patient tone.

"Dr. Cameron isn't here," she told him.

"Ok," he was beginning to feel impatient, "When did she check out?"

"She didn't."

"Ok," he was really pissed off now, "Well then I'll repeat my question: what exam room is she in?"

"She's not in any exam room," the poor woman tried to explain, "She isn't here. She didn't check out, because she didn't check in. She not _here_."

House stared at her for a moment. Why wasn't Cameron there? Why hadn't she checked in? Since when did she disobey him?

If she wasn't in the clinic, then where the hell could she be?

Suddenly, inspiration struck.

Could it be?

If he was right, then he had to admit that he felt grudgingly impressed. He headed off to confirm his theory.

In his haste, he didn't notice an amused looking Dr. Cuddy watching him from her office.

* * *

He was right.

Cameron, Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee were sipping coffee in the conference room while they worked on what appeared to be a differential diagnosis.

Cameron was scribbling something on the glass wall of the room so she noticed him first. For a second, her mind went back to that time he had cornered her in the lab to talk about some supposed 'mistake' that she had made. "Brrr. Icy," he'd said when she'd given him a cold stare. This time, it was his eyes that were freezing cold.

Their gazes locked briefly and then he had pushed open the door and walked in.

"My, my, isn't this cosy."

Foreman and Chase jumped in their seats guiltily.

"You two," he addressed his male ducklings, "Get working on those tests in the lab."

They made a move to leave, but Cameron's voice stayed them.

"The lab-techs are working on them," she told her boss calmly, "Which lets Foreman and Chase actually do some real medicine- rather than wasting their time in the lab."

House stared at her. He couldn't believe it; she was actually answering him back.

"And if I had wanted lab-techs to do them, I would have asked lab-techs to do them," his voice was dangerous.

"I figured it just slipped your mind," she said sweetly, "What will all the cases you've got on at the moment."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's quality and not quantity that matters?"

"No, she was too busy teaching me good manners," she shot back, "Speaking of which, coffee?"

He felt his hackles rise at her breezy tone. "_Thanks_ but I'm not staying. And neither are any of you. No one is working in this conference room until it's put back the way it was," he sent Cameron an accusing glare, "And _you_ should be in the clinic."

"I did enough of your clinic hours while you were out," she snapped back, and then could have kicked herself for bringing up a subject that she wanted to avoid, "And the conference room is staying the way it is."

House theatrically raised his fingers to his throat: "Just checking to see if I actually died and made you head of _my _department," he explained, after a few seconds he said with a surprised air: "Nope. Apparently not."

She couldn't _believe_ he was making references to his shooting. What was _wrong _with the man? Was he completely unaware that it might have affected the people around him too.

Anger made her snap back: "Well, at the rate your patient's relatives are filing complaints, it could happen yet."

Chase's jaw went slightly slack.

"You two," he sent a dark look in the two doctors' direction, "Get down to the lab right _now_."

They got to their feet.

"Stay where you are," Cameron snapped, causing both men to sit back down again, "We haven't finished our differential yet."

"And what patient are you diagnosing?" There was steel in his voice.

The question didn't need a response, but she answered it anyway.

"_Our _patient," she stressed.

"_My_ patient," he shot back, "_I _am the attending on this case."

"Well then, please feel free to join in," she said with mock-graciousness.

"Cameron," he spoke quietly and dangerously, "This is _my _patient. Not yours. _Mine._"

"I thought we were on the same team," she replied innocently.

Anger drove him forward and suddenly they were toe-to-toe.

"_I am still_ _your boss_," he growled.

She really hoped he couldn't hear that her heart was thumping.

"I never thought you were anything else, Dr. House," she responded, lying through her teeth.

"I don't care whose ass you had to kiss to fill my shoes while I was away, but this is _my _job and _my _department- get used to it." She could feel his angry breath on her face.

Did he seriously think that she was after his job? How wide of the mark could you get?

Feeling slightly more relaxed, she checked her watch casually: "What do you know? It's 12.15," her voice was filled with mock surprise and she turned to her two colleagues, "How about we go on lunch now? I'll be down in a second."

The two men correctly interpreted this as a dismissal and gladly made their escape.

As soon as they left the room, House said in a furious under-tone: "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but-"

Cameron cut him off as she stepped around him: "I'm just doing my job, House. And, for the record, I don't want yours."

At the door, she turned back to look at him again: "House, the conference room is staying the way it is. We're not working anywhere else- get used to it," suddenly she gave an amused smile: "By the way, I hope you've been having fun looking over my patients files. Let me know when you get sick of chasing wild geese." Then she disappeared.

House was speechless with rage. He could do nothing but watch his employee's graceful retreat.

* * *

AN: So, I know there was no kick-boxing or anything, but it's the best I could do! Please let me know what you thought!


	22. Minor Betrayals

Disclaimer: not mine!

Thanks for the great reviews. I just wanted to update quickly cos I'm rushing out the door now. Hope you like the new chapter. I'll try to update again soon.

Enjoy!

* * *

Thwack!

Dr. James Wilson looked up from his work, startled by the sound of something hitting against his glass balcony door.

He suppressed a smile at what he saw- an irate looking House was throwing pebbles to get his attention.

"It's open," he yelled without getting up.

House climbed over the low partition wall- something that he could manage quite easily now- and yanked open the door.

He was angrily pacing the office while Wilson watched in silence. He'd tell him what was the matter soon enough.

"Since when did Allison Cameron grow a pair?"

It sounded like a real question- even though it was angrily put- but James Wilson couldn't suppress a laugh.

House shot his friend a look.

"I'm sorry," James apologised insincerely, "were you actually expecting me to answer that?"

"She just told me that she and the other idiots won't work anywhere else but the conference room!" He sounded outraged.

Wilson just looked at him.

"_Anywhere else_," he stressed, trying to drive home his point.

The oncologist was apparently unimpressed: "And?"

"_I_ am their boss. _I _run the department. _I_ make the decisions," he was yelling now.

Wilson had to admit that he was slightly surprised by his friend's reaction. He seemed genuinely angry. He wasn't plotting revenge; he was just furious.

He couldn't stop himself from saying: "It sounds like something you'd say," House glared at him, so he went on, "Well, it's basically the same decision that you made: you'll work anywhere but your office; now she's saying that she'll only work there."

"And?"

"I'm just saying it's a very you-thing to say."

"Great. Thank you, Wilson," House's tone was sarcastic, "Not only is Cameron stealing my job and my name, but now she's also trying to become me!"

"Did Allison say she wants your job?" Wilson's voice was sceptical.

House shook his head, "But I know she's just trying to lure me into a false sense of security…and then POW! I'm out on the street and Cameron's filling my office with flowers and teddy-bears and those disgusting little heart-shaped pieces of candy that say all kinds of crap!"

His friend looked amused: "Looks like you're writing yourself a little novel there. House, you're paranoid."

"Just 'cos I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after me," he shot back.

James rolled his eyes: "I'm telling you now that Allison doesn't want your job, she just wants to make sure that you don't screw up everything that she accomplished while she was Department Head."

"Which is?"

"Patients. Donors. And organisation," he deliberately didn't add that she'd done everything that House didn't, but his friend understood the implication.

House stared at him for a second and then he suddenly yelled: "I don't care if she cured every terminal patient in an hundred-mile radius using only penicillin! She's leading a mutiny!"

"Why don't you go and talk to her before you start trying to hang people?" Wilson sounded resigned. There didn't seem to be getting through to him.

"Ha! Only weaklings talk about their problems."

"Let me guess, you're now going to start quoting the Art of War," James' tone was dry.

House ignored him, "In any case, they've all gone on early-lunch."

Wilson started, "What time is it?"

"12.46. Why?" It was interesting to see the effect that these words produced on the oncologist.

"Damn," Wilson threw down his pen and got hurriedly to his feet, "I'm late."

"What for?" House asked somewhat curiously, he could he could have sworn that his friend was looking a bit guilty.

"I was supposed to meet someone for lunch, that's all," he was avoiding House's eyes.

"Who?"

"Hmmm?" Wilson was pulling on his jacket.

"I said 'who'?" House repeated.

Wilson met his friend's gaze briefly: "Allison."

House just stared at him. The woman was trying to steal his best-friend too.

"You're welcome to come too," Wilson offered.

"Thank you, but I'd rather chew off my own arm," it was all he could come up with at such short notice.

"Right," Wilson sounded distracted, "I'll see you later."

He swept the diagnostician out the door, locked it behind them and hurried off to the canteen.

House watched him grimly. Something had to be done about Cameron. She'd only been back four hours and already she was causing havoc.

There was nothing for it but to fight dirty.

* * *

AN: How was that? I hope you liked it- please let me know!


	23. Ahoyhoy

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Thank you to everyone who let me know what they thought of the last chapters. I'm posting two now and hopefully will have more tomorrow- I'm trying to get this fic finished by Tuesday...who thinks I can do it?? LOL

Anyway, my thanks to:

Saz89: I LOVE getting your reviews!

Jacey925: I LOVe hearing from new-readers!

SilvaK: Thanks for your review- it was very sweet. Hopefully, by the time you get back I'll have the whole fic finished!

violetbeetles: Since I want to get this finished quickly, House should be coming to his senses real soon!

Saucy-Duck: I LOVE your input as always!

Limaccia: Don't worry, things should get back to 'normal' real soon.

lexie-the-pixie: I'm really glad that you're enjoying it- thanks for letting me know!

kamariej: Ok. I'd better clear a couple of things up, cos it's true that I wasn't very...um...clear. So...

1) Yes. The whole date thing did happen. However, I choose to believe that, at that point, Cameron wasn't in love with House.

2) Cameron tells House in the first episode of Season 2 that she is "over him". We can therefore assume that she thinks that her little crush is 'no more'...we, of course, know different...

3) You're damn right about Cuddy!

Saucy-Duck: I find it a little creepy that you're able to read my mind through the internet! Yes, House is about to run to Cuddy- how did you know?

saz89: I suppose getting high of fics is better than getting high offf something else. Maybe House should read some fics for his leg pain??

* * *

Cuddy was as useless as Wilson. 

He barged into her office without knocking- as usual.

Sometimes she wondered why she even had a door. Surely it would suit House better if she would just work out in the corridor where he would be able to yell at her whenever he felt like it.

"Dr. Cuddy, I need to find some new fellows," he announced.

"What's wrong with the ones you have now?" she asked him, seemingly unfazed.

"After the big mutiny, they all got hanged- to prove my superiority as captain, of course. Shortly afterwards, I realised that I had no one to prove my superiority _to_. So, now I need new fellows," he said it as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I'm assuming that the hanging was metaphorical."

"You know what they say," his tone became conspiratorial, "When you assume, you make an **ass **out of **u **and **me**," he paused for a moment, "Just something to think about."

She rolled her eyes: "Thanks, House. I will."

She went back to working on the file in front of her.

"So, the interview process can begin?" he asked her, "I was thinking that this time I'd do a cross between Takeshi's Castle and Pop Idol- but with scalpels."

"Right House," his boss' tone was dismissive, "You go right ahead and sell that idea to some idiot producer. In the mean time, you can continue to work with the fellows that you have now."

House stared at her.

"You're _not _getting new ones," the Dean of Medicine told him firmly.

He looked like she was about to start an argument, but Cuddy was on her feet.

"I have a board meeting," she told him, "You and you laser pointer would be welcome…but I've a feeling that you'd be better off trying to get reacquainted with your newly decorated office- because that's not going to be changed either."

She strode out but not before sending him a 'don't fuck with me' glance.

House was shocked.

Had everyone in the entire hospital decided to take Cameron's side?

* * *

The result was unanimous.

All twelve board members had voted to split the running of the Diagnostics Department.

Dr. House was to retain his title, his office, his hiring/firing powers and his choice of patients. Dr. Allison Cameron, although she didn't know it yet, was to be put in charge of the administrative side of things; paperwork, fundraising and out-patient care were now her responsibility.

The board had recognised Cameron's abilities and wasn't about to let them go to waste.

Dr. Cuddy suppressed a pang of guilt as she raised her hand for the final vote. Yes, they were effectively putting Cameron in the firing line, but they were also showing her that they had great confidence in her. In any case, she had practically volunteered to keep House from destroying all the changes that had made the department so efficient over the past few months.

So, Cuddy refused to listen to the very small voice that was telling her that she should have discussed this with Dr. Cameron first and, instead, she gave a satisfied smile as the counting of the votes told of victory.

Breaking the news to House would be her responsibility but, after that, he would be Cameron's. For a brief moment, the Dean of Medicine tried to imagine what it would be like not having to chase House for his paperwork or check up on him to see if he was running the department correctly- she couldn't do it. It had been her job ever since House had started work at Princeton Plainsboro and she had to admit that she had become used to it- although it was a pain in the ass. She was used to it.

Still, change was good- and the board's decision was certainly going to be changing a lot of things.

* * *

AN: Ok, short I know, but cut me some slack! Besides, I'm poting another chapter right now. Anybody get the Silence of the Lambs reference?? I don't know if it's in the movie, but it is in the book...


	24. Of loss and hurt

Disclaimer: Not mine- woe is me!

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Cameron accepted, though reluctantly.

Her initial response had been "No way", but Cuddy had explained to her that this wasn't 'about taking House's department away from him'. It was, she said, 'for the good of the patients'. But Allison was no fool. She realised that Cuddy had been looking for a way to control House for years and now that one had presented itself, she wasn't about to let it go. The Dean of Medicine had decided to make the fullest use possible out of the young immunologist; the young immunologist was, of course, hell-bent on doing the same. This wasn't to say that she didn't feel any guilt for what this was going to do to House. She had categorically told him that she didn't want his job- now half of it was being handed to her on a silver platter. True, it was the half that he disliked almost as much as clinic duty, but it was still part of his job; part of what made him who he was.

Despite her misgivings, she was still prepared to accept the job. But the feeling of guilt prompted her to ask Cuddy if she could be there when she told House the…. 'good news'.

House's reaction had been understated.

There was none of the unrestrained shouting that had greeted the announcement that Cameron had filled in for him while he's been out 'sick'.

He calmly made a jibe about every great genius needing a Personal Assistant to answer their emails and do their paperwork.

He seemed fine; his usual sarcastic self. But Cameron thought that she had seen a look of hurt briefly flickering across his face.

It prompted her to follow him out of Cuddy's office to try and explain that she hadn't ask for the job and that if Cuddy hadn't told her that if she "didn't take it, someone else would"- something which, to Cameron's ears, had sounded almost like a threat- she would have refused the position.

"House," she called his name to get his attention because it looked like he had been going to walk off without saying anything.

Her boss stopped in his tracks and turned to face her: "What is it Cameron? Have you come up with a new ingenious way of running the department? How about _you_ select and treat the patients and _I _came make the coffee to fuel your differentials? I have to say, the misdirection was sheer genius," he added, "A little 1936 perhaps. Hitler would be proud."

She understood that he was angry- hell, she would have been too. And she also knew that it wasn't just anger that was causing him to lash out; he was scared too. Scared of losing the job that defined him; scared of losing part of himself.

Allison opened her mouth, ready to apologise and explain but House got their before her:

"I think the real question is: how many board members did you have to sleep with to make this happen?" his tone was malicious, "Because there's no way anyone promoted you out of merit alone."

She just stared at him, hurt forming in her eyes. She remembered only too well the humiliating discovery that her boss had hired her for her looks but this insinuation was worse. House might not actually believe it, but if he was angry enough he might feel the urge to spread it around the hospital- just to make things difficult for her.

His words lacerated her pride and it took all of her strength not to snap back with some angry retort. But she didn't; she said nothing because there was nothing too say. She had been going to explain how sorry she was, but not now. Instead, she drew herself up and walked away, angrily thinking that if that was how House wanted it, that was how it was going to be. It was a little said though. A long time ago she had decided that it House couldn't love her he was damn-well going to respect her as a doctor. She hadn't realised how far she was away from that objective until now.

Greggory House saw the hurt look in the immunologist's eyes and almost felt the urge to apologise- then he caught himself just in time. What had he to apologise for? Nothing. _She _was the one trying to steal his job- after she had categorically told him that she didn't want it. If anyone should be hurt, it should be _him_.

So, the diagnostician pushed away the nagging feeling that he had gone a bit overboard with Cameron and headed to the canteen for a much needed Ruben. What better way to celebrate losing half your job?

* * *

AN: How was that? I know it was short, but I'll be posting again tomorrow. I'm not sure if the Hitler reference needs to be explained- let me know!


	25. Status Quo

Disclaimer: not mine.

Sorry that I'm only posting one chapter now. Hopefully I'll have the end soon.

Thanks again for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

Greggory House was smart enough to know when to quit.

Fighting dirty hadn't worked. Cuddy was well and truly on Cameron's side and seemed to be hell-bent on putting him in his place. He would never be able to get Cameron off his case that way, so he switched tactics.

Instead of open battle, House was using a combination of snide comments and civil disobedience.

The team was now using the conference room again with the furniture in exactly the same way as Cameron had placed it a few months ago, but somewhere along the way it had become Allison's responsibility to chase her boss for his paperwork and smooth down ruffled patients and their relatives.

House routinely referred unsatisfied customers to the young immunologist, refusing to deal with them himself. So, on top of her work as his fellow, Cameron had to clean up the messes that her boss made. Cuddy had effectively shifted her responsibility regarding House to the young doctor's shoulders. She now had to make sure that he did his job- _and _do her own.

If House had conceded on the conference room issue, then that was all he was prepared to concede on.

He and Cameron routinely clashed over a variety of topics: patient care, paperwork, Chase and Foreman's work-load, clinic duty- anything that House could make an issue out of. Which, in truth, was _anything_. The man had a talent for creating conflict out of thin air. However, Cameron did lend him a hand.

The immunologist was so furious at his insinuation that she hadn't received this promotion on merit alone that she was only to happy to cross swords with House- provided there was a chance that she could win, of course.

The two doctors could be heard fighting all over the hospital; in the conference room, the corridors, the clinic- anywhere they could. The only neutral zone was the canteen. House confined himself to snide remarks there, while Cameron studiously ignored his attempts to provoke her. Still, lunch-time was not without tension. Wilson was a bone of contention between Cameron and her boss. House had shown himself to be unexpectedly possessive- Wilson was _his _friend. _They _had lunch together and that was the end of it. But James Wilson was reluctant to relinquish Allison's friendship. In the beginning, he'd asked Cameron to join the two of them for lunch but she never accepted; she was well aware that her friendship with the oncologist made her boss feel threatened, so she graciously allowed him hang out with Wilson whenever he chose- inside the hospital. Outside the hospital was another matter.

Sometimes James and Allison met for drinks after work. Other times they would go to a play or a jazz club that she had discovered. They were just friends but it didn't stop House spreading the rumour of their approaching nuptials around the hospital. After that, Wilson had stopped telling House that he was meeting Cameron. His friend still knew about it, though, and whenever he called Wilson's cell and he didn't pick up he assumed that he and Allison were out somewhere together. It annoyed him to think that the immunologist was trying to steal his friend- as well as his job- so the clashes between them became more frequent.

Chase and Foreman were also a source of conflict.

Allison was adamant that they be allowed time to research and write papers. House was adamant that they were there to do his biding. When she sent them both home early to get some sleep because they were both exhausted- they'd had to pull a double shift doing tests while House went to get some shut-eye- there had been a blazing row.

House had won that one when he finally yelled at her that she, Chase and Foreman had better remember that _he _was their boss- or he'd find some employees that did.

After that, he'd refused to do any paperwork for a week, forcing Cameron to do it in his place. She'd started gulping down too much coffee again to make up for missing too much sleep and she'd started losing the weight that she'd put back on during her vacation. Wilson started to notice the familiar pinched look in her face that had been present the whole time House had been off work- it was a sure sign that she needed rest. House noticed it too but didn't say anything. He didn't lay off for a second either.

If Cuddy had thought that bringing Cameron back would calm things down at the hospital she was sadly mistaken. Wilson was proved right and House simply picked another target. This may have been good news for the Dean of Medicine who suddenly found herself free from the burden of having to monitor House, but it was hardly good for the young immunologist who had to deal with him in her place. The older doctor soothed her conscience by telling herself that this experience was really going to help Cameron later in her career and when she heard about her two employees fighting, she looked the other way.

So, Allison worked her ass off, fought with House about big and little things and dreamed of the day that she could escape to a hospital that had never heard of him and doctors that would leave her alone for five minutes at a time.

* * *

AN: Yeah, I know...summary chapters suck! Sorry!


	26. Author's note

Dear All,

I just wanted to say: thank you all so much for the many reviews I have received for this fic. They all mean a lot to me and I really appreciate you guys taking the time to let me know what you think.

Sadly, I am putting this fic on hiatus. I had hoped to have it finished for today but I've been so busy that I really haven't gotten the chance. I'm really sorry about this and I hope that you've enjoyed it so far. I'm going away so I won't have any time to write it for the next while but hopefully I'll be able to pick it up again in a couple of months.

Once again, I am very sorry.

Thanks for reading thus far and happy writing!

AllieCam


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